Hey peeps, good news: I got a job. They're paying me. And it doesn't suck!! Anyway, I'll touch on that next week I guess. Now on to the main feature...
i've rented a lot of condos/vacation homes in the last 5 years. nothing extremely luxurious or high-end, but most of the places have been at ski resorts so they're all fairly nice. almost all of them i found through vrbo.com, although i did get one on eBay (which, while still relatively expensive, was by far the nicest and best bargain of them all). anyway, the owner will usually email a rental agreement as well as another document containing helpful info about the home or neighborhood, stuff like where to park, how to get into the unit, how to work the hot tub, and what to do before you leave. We rented a suite inside a home in Breckenridge over Labor day weekend. This particular ower/manager sent me all of the info, and it was immediately apparent that i was dealing with a crazy person. Get a load of this:
If you plan on using the hot tub, please bring your own towels for that.
Come on. Really? I can tell you right now if we hadn't been local, we would not have brought our own towels.
another:
Please caution all guests not to use our towels and washcloths to remove lipstick and facial makeup. You will be charged for all permanently soiled linens & towels, or for excessive cleaning time used in trying to remove spots.
'Scuse me? I totally get that you don't want to have to keep buying new towels all the time, but I'm pretty sure that having your stuff stained, broken, &/or stolen is part of having a vacation rental property. Oh, and there's this amazing product...It's sold at the...uh...the store, and it's like, a chemical that removes stains. I think it's called...bleach? Yeah, that sounds right. And let me remind you I paid a $50 cleaning fee. For two nights.
and another:
Please be sure that all kitchen items and dishes are cleaned and returned to the cabinets. Failure to properly pick up after yourself may result in excessive cleaning required after your departure.
Whaaaat?! But wait, there's more:
Upon check out we request that all trash be placed in the outside wooden enclosure to the right of the front door.
Noooo!! What is this craziness?! Fortunately I did not get charged for leaving the trash in the room. Then there was about a half a page worth of instructions about parking, which could have been reduced to three sentences. Inside the suite there was another page of instructions about how to work the thermostat and base heaters that, again, could have been condensed down to three bullet points. I bet this person thinks he/she is the best property manager out there, with all the rules and stupid instructions. Bah. I'm a little mad that I gave this person my business, but I only had about 4 days to book something so I was a little desperate. Our stay was ok for the price, but I would have rather coughed up an extra $20/night and stayed at another place where the bathroom a) had an exhaust fan, and b)wasn't in the kitchen. that was interesting.
Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts
9.12.2011
4.15.2011
nothing to see here, folks.
ok been a while since i posted, my bad.
here's what i've been up to:
last weekend i went to the masters. my grandmother still gets tickets and we spread them out with family and friends as usual so that the max amount of people can enjoy the experience. it wasn't the first time i had been down there for the masters - in 2007 my brother & i drove down there, the entire round was rained out, and we drove all the way back to atlanta. totally lame. somehow it worked out this year that i was able to get all 4 tickets for one day (friday), so i invited andy and his parents. unfortunately andy got stuck in hinesville, ga doing business stuff so i had to find a replacement. you really wouldn't believe how hard it is to find someone to go to the masters on short notice, especially when they know they have to leave if/when andy finally makes it to augusta. fortunately andy's coworker/friend was willing to make the drive and he was a blast to hang out with and really appreciated the experience. especially the pimento cheese sandwiches for $1.50. i think he ended up buying about $450 worth of merchandise at the request of his family.
as you can see, andy finally made it around 2pm and so we stayed until almost every group finished. the entire day was totally awesome. i've always kinda poke fun at golf since it's often associated with old retired guys and pleated pants, but watching the pros is a different story. i've got a whole new perspective on the sport. this young dude, ricky fowler, wears neon puma stuff which is a little crazy (but awesome), and i only saw a few players wearing pleated pants.
the weekend before that we went camping at tugaloo state park. it's a ways up I-85 almost to south carolina. we had so much stuff it looked like we were going on vacation for a week. and this is not the kind of camping where you take a pack with all your gear and hike in. we registered online for a campsite and it was right by the lake...but also right by the road. seriously, our tent was about 3 feet from the edge of the road. it was delightfully chilly and not-so-delightfully windy, but thank goodness no bugs and not too much pollen. we busted out a vintage propane camp stove that andy's dad pulled out of his attic:
still playing on two hockey teams. one with andy on the weekends @ the cooler (rec), and then in a beginner league which is every monday night at the marietta ice center. rec league season ended last week, our team, the flyers, finished in 5th place out of 10 with 7-4 record so not too shabby. my other team...well, we have yet to win a game (0-7-1). oh well.
i'm still watching too much tv and eating too many cookies. think i'll switch to ice cream.
here's what i've been up to:
last weekend i went to the masters. my grandmother still gets tickets and we spread them out with family and friends as usual so that the max amount of people can enjoy the experience. it wasn't the first time i had been down there for the masters - in 2007 my brother & i drove down there, the entire round was rained out, and we drove all the way back to atlanta. totally lame. somehow it worked out this year that i was able to get all 4 tickets for one day (friday), so i invited andy and his parents. unfortunately andy got stuck in hinesville, ga doing business stuff so i had to find a replacement. you really wouldn't believe how hard it is to find someone to go to the masters on short notice, especially when they know they have to leave if/when andy finally makes it to augusta. fortunately andy's coworker/friend was willing to make the drive and he was a blast to hang out with and really appreciated the experience. especially the pimento cheese sandwiches for $1.50. i think he ended up buying about $450 worth of merchandise at the request of his family.
can't take cameras or phones inside the gates.
as you can see, andy finally made it around 2pm and so we stayed until almost every group finished. the entire day was totally awesome. i've always kinda poke fun at golf since it's often associated with old retired guys and pleated pants, but watching the pros is a different story. i've got a whole new perspective on the sport. this young dude, ricky fowler, wears neon puma stuff which is a little crazy (but awesome), and i only saw a few players wearing pleated pants.
the weekend before that we went camping at tugaloo state park. it's a ways up I-85 almost to south carolina. we had so much stuff it looked like we were going on vacation for a week. and this is not the kind of camping where you take a pack with all your gear and hike in. we registered online for a campsite and it was right by the lake...but also right by the road. seriously, our tent was about 3 feet from the edge of the road. it was delightfully chilly and not-so-delightfully windy, but thank goodness no bugs and not too much pollen. we busted out a vintage propane camp stove that andy's dad pulled out of his attic:
why is everything from the late 70s this color green?
i'm still watching too much tv and eating too many cookies. think i'll switch to ice cream.
7.27.2010
aahl rec league
there were some people shooting video and taking photos at my last hockey game - i dug through the 80 photos that the guy put on facebook and i didn't make any of them. i'm bummed because they were really good photos. here are two good ones of andy:
but i did make one of the video clips (i'm #15 in black)
it's weird seeing that play on video, because i could have sworn i was skating *way* faster than that.
it's weird seeing that play on video, because i could have sworn i was skating *way* faster than that.
7.01.2010
the random drunken injury
have you ever had an awesome party weekend full of booze and general tomfoolery and then a few days later you notice all these bruises and cuts on you, and it's surprising because you have very little memory of how they got there? bueller?...bueller? this happened to me last weekend and i am still finding signs of random drunken injury, or R.D.I. as i'm now going to call it. i guess this sounds way more severe than it actually is, it's not like i gashed my head open or anything, but i have a killer bruise, it's like 6 inches long, behind my knee that hurt real bad until today. i'm pretty sure brandon's got similar bruises since we were the ones attempting to board the pontoon boat from the front - while in the water - without the aid of a ladder (ladders, ha. i shall use my brute strength to get on the boat!) i'm also missing a small chunk of flesh from my knuckle- got no idea how that happened. all i know is that one minute i'm floating along in the lake and the next i'm handing andy a beer and my finger's all bloody. weird. and then there was that time i jumped into the lake "knees first" not realizing how shallow...yeah, that one didn't end well. anyone else have any good R.D.I. stories?
6.29.2010
andy gives kfc the middle finger
you've heard of kfc's double down:
mmmm...obesity.
now i present to you, the andy parsons triple play:
bacon, cheese, hamburger flanked by chickfila breakfast fillets.
this creation was made possible by naomi & brandon sparks. they both work at the chickfila corporate office and came through with the good stuff this weekend:
why is this stuff so effin' good? also, if you're wondering why brandon't shirt looks photoshopped, it's because i needed to cover up a particular offensive logo.
10.04.2009
flood damage
the weather on saturday was awesome so andy and i got our butts off the couch and went for a long walk/jog/adventure. we walked through some neighborhoods near historic downtown vinings since i live on the edge of all that. we saw some evidence from the recent flooding, mainly dirty trees and bushes and then yard sign ads for water damage companies. it's only been two weeks and we both have already forgotten how much destruction it caused since *fortunately* we weren't affected by it. we went down cochise drive and saw some pretty alarming signs from the flooding - i never realized how close these homes are to the chattahoochee.
if we hadn't been roaming through such a wealthy neighborhood the aftermath would have been heart-breaking - construction debris everywhere, emergency trailers parked on the curb, toys & patio items scattered about from where they had once been afloat in the yard, etc - but since this is a notoriously rich part of town i hardly felt bad for the material damage we saw. don't think i'm a bad person, i mean, it sucks for the families, but at least they have the resources to rebuild their homes and buy new cars.
as we were walking we saw a lot of the homeowners outside in their yards. one guy was on his phone and kinda waved us down, so we thought he needed a hand with something or just wanted to ask us a question. you could see the water line on the house, it was probably at 6-8 feet. we paused in front of his driveway, then heard him say into the phone "hey man, i'll call ya back." so we thought it must be important if he hung up his phone to chat with us. i was like hey, this is horrible, what's goin' on? then it was clear to us that he didn't need help, because all he talked about was the monetary value of the assets his parents and neighbors lost. something about his mom and an upscale boutique, a neighbor with 4 million in damage to his car collection, etc. yeah man, you're impressing me now. oh, but we did learn something from him: almost everyone in that area had insurance.
this guy was ridiculous. probably 25 years old. not very physically attractive (but then again, most people look bad standing next to andy). socially awkward. textbook close-talker. there was an air of desperation about his friendliness and his obvious need to talk about his parents money. here's my story about him: he's an only child born to some rich people who, by giving him everything he ever wanted, denied him the opportunity to develop essential learning/coping/social skills. he went off to college, as all upper-class kids do, but probably dropped out to help a friend start a business, thinking "who needs a degree, we're gonna be rich!" well, that business tanked, and he can't make it in the real world. but no problem, because he's got mom & dad. the friends he had at one point have forgotten him because they're busy with their jobs and their girlfriends... makes sense, i guess.
so i made the mistake of telling him my name. he knows i went to tech, and knows i live in the area. i'm expecting a facebook request at any moment.
here's a photo my boss emailed to me of one of her neighbors.
she lives in sandy springs, just outside 285. fortunately her
house is on a hill away from the river. looks like the rich
folk had themselves a grand ol' time.
if we hadn't been roaming through such a wealthy neighborhood the aftermath would have been heart-breaking - construction debris everywhere, emergency trailers parked on the curb, toys & patio items scattered about from where they had once been afloat in the yard, etc - but since this is a notoriously rich part of town i hardly felt bad for the material damage we saw. don't think i'm a bad person, i mean, it sucks for the families, but at least they have the resources to rebuild their homes and buy new cars.
as we were walking we saw a lot of the homeowners outside in their yards. one guy was on his phone and kinda waved us down, so we thought he needed a hand with something or just wanted to ask us a question. you could see the water line on the house, it was probably at 6-8 feet. we paused in front of his driveway, then heard him say into the phone "hey man, i'll call ya back." so we thought it must be important if he hung up his phone to chat with us. i was like hey, this is horrible, what's goin' on? then it was clear to us that he didn't need help, because all he talked about was the monetary value of the assets his parents and neighbors lost. something about his mom and an upscale boutique, a neighbor with 4 million in damage to his car collection, etc. yeah man, you're impressing me now. oh, but we did learn something from him: almost everyone in that area had insurance.
this guy was ridiculous. probably 25 years old. not very physically attractive (but then again, most people look bad standing next to andy). socially awkward. textbook close-talker. there was an air of desperation about his friendliness and his obvious need to talk about his parents money. here's my story about him: he's an only child born to some rich people who, by giving him everything he ever wanted, denied him the opportunity to develop essential learning/coping/social skills. he went off to college, as all upper-class kids do, but probably dropped out to help a friend start a business, thinking "who needs a degree, we're gonna be rich!" well, that business tanked, and he can't make it in the real world. but no problem, because he's got mom & dad. the friends he had at one point have forgotten him because they're busy with their jobs and their girlfriends... makes sense, i guess.
so i made the mistake of telling him my name. he knows i went to tech, and knows i live in the area. i'm expecting a facebook request at any moment.
here's a photo my boss emailed to me of one of her neighbors. she lives in sandy springs, just outside 285. fortunately her
house is on a hill away from the river. looks like the rich
folk had themselves a grand ol' time.
5.11.2009
mother's day fail
this past weekend i went to dalton to spend the weekend with mary ellen since sunday was, duh, mother's day. i'm not a huge fan of giving people tangible gifts so i thought it would be nice to clean out her car & have it detailed. as in, major interior de-scumming. sounds easy enough, but i wanted to do this on the sly so it'd be a huge surprise. fortunately she was busy with dance recitals all day on saturday so i knew i'd have access to the car. i rolled into dalton around 4:00, found her spare key, dug through her email and found out where the recital was (the wink theater) and when it started (4:00). i figured the thing would last about an hour and a half, which would give me plenty of time to get it cleaned & have it back in the lot. i knew that bad things could happen if i didn't make it back before the show ended, but that was a risk i was willing to take. because who wouldn't *love* the inside of their car being spotless?! if i didn't make it back in time, i was praying she'd check her voice mail before noticing her car was missing, as i left her a message saying that i was driving her car. hoping she'd check the voice mail and not go into a panic thinking someone jacked her car. oh, and really, really hoping that she wouldn't call the cops.
i could make this a really long narrative about how almost everything that could go wrong actually went wrong, but i won't. i'll just list the highlights, and hopefully you'll get the idea.
i could make this a really long narrative about how almost everything that could go wrong actually went wrong, but i won't. i'll just list the highlights, and hopefully you'll get the idea.
- found her car, parked mine across street. ran across street, drove her car & parked next to mine. drove my car with the intent to park in her empty space (i even had a giant note on the dash that said "mary ellen: i have your car. call me!") but somebody scored it first. parking my car in that same spot was probably the most crucial part of the plan, and since i couldn't pull that off, i probably should have abandoned plan right then.
- no way would anyone be able to clean inside her car unless i took everything out first. so i frantically removed every blasted thing out of that car & put it in my trunk. took way too long. i was cursing & working up quite a sweat. people started to notice. they probably thought i was stealing her... oh wait, i *was* stealing.
- started cruising around for a car detailing place. in atlanta there are two on every corner. in dalton, not so much. and it was saturday. apparently these types of businesses aren't open on saturday, or if they are, they close before 4:00. again, probably should have bailed out and returned the car at this point.
- noticed my cell phone battery very low.
- after driving around for much too long i stopped at a car audio place to ask if they knew of a detail shop that would be open. a most helpful girl told me "julians" downtown. oh good, i'm not screwed, and fortunately it's down the street from the theater.
- julian's was closed. at this point i tried to return the car. *tried.* but the streets were blocked off for some hot rod parade thing.
- starting to panic because cell phone battery dangerously low.
- drove her car back to her house. planned to get down and dirty and clean it myself. couldn't find an extension cord for the vacuum. grabbed some clean-up wipe things and went to the self-service car care place.
- whilst vacuuming mats, it started raining. now i was wet, on top of being dirty, smelly, and extremely frustrated.
- thankfully my cell phone still on. but oops, i missed a call from mary ellen. couldn't hear it ring over the vacuum.
- called her back. "yes i have your car, no i haven't been kidnapped. see you at home."
3.24.2009
not everyone thinks i'm a bitch
andy & i went to bainbridge, ga last weekend to attend this huge surprise birthday party for one of the town's elite business owners, vic pemberton. mr. p has a vending and catering business and andy used to work for him while he was in high school. andy's parents are friends with vic & his wife. anyway, the party was awesome. i actually bought a dress for the event. i rarely do that. i was gonna wear what was already in my closet but these days i'm starting to exhaust my options, and those options are looking kinda crappy. anyway, i was excited to have scored this particular dress and bragged to my mom that i got a rad dress at tjmaxx (as if i'd shop anywhere else), and that i'd get someone at the party to take my photo so she could see. here it is:
andy & me gettin' our drink on in bainbridge
anyone see a problem with this photo? you can't see the whole dress. and you can't see my shoes, which were totally cute thank you very much. i was very careful on who i grabbed to take this, as in, i didn't pick someone who was 50+ years old. perhaps i expect too much of the bainbridge crowd. sorry. i might add that this was the 2nd of two photos: the first was taken horizontally. when she wanted to take another, i advised her to hold the camera vertically to get a full body shot. then she handed the camera back to me and said "here make sure these are good." and so i wouldn't make myself out to be a total a-hole, i was like "oh they're fine," and i didn't even check them. i totally should have checked.
someone tied balloons to andy's pants
so the party was great and there were tons of people there. the rest of the weekend we ate the remainder of the finger foods (i call them that since i can't spell hors d'oveurs? eh? that doesn't look right...) at the pemberton's house and hung out with andy's friends josh & lane. i've been hearing about these guys for 3+ years so i kinda felt like i knew them already, but it was good to finally meet them both. josh is possibly the nicest person i've ever met. lane is very entertaining and perhaps a little psycho. i mean that in the nicest way possible. check this out - he was on wheel of fortune last fall and completely dominated, won like $45k or something ridiculous.
daniel, lane, andy, & josh. ugh i really need to clean my camera lens.
so, one thing that made me feel good is that everyone seemed to like me. granted, i behaved myself, didn't break anything, and kept the cursing to a minimum. andy kept telling me how much everyone liked me, which wasn't really that shocking, because i am pretty cool. although i i'm sure a select few think i'm crazy and overbearing since i begged andy not to eat a burger king cheeseburger at 1am that was apparently calling his name. but it's always nice to hear that people don't think you're a total bitch.
ps - more pics from bainbridge here
andy & me gettin' our drink on in bainbridgeanyone see a problem with this photo? you can't see the whole dress. and you can't see my shoes, which were totally cute thank you very much. i was very careful on who i grabbed to take this, as in, i didn't pick someone who was 50+ years old. perhaps i expect too much of the bainbridge crowd. sorry. i might add that this was the 2nd of two photos: the first was taken horizontally. when she wanted to take another, i advised her to hold the camera vertically to get a full body shot. then she handed the camera back to me and said "here make sure these are good." and so i wouldn't make myself out to be a total a-hole, i was like "oh they're fine," and i didn't even check them. i totally should have checked.
someone tied balloons to andy's pantsso the party was great and there were tons of people there. the rest of the weekend we ate the remainder of the finger foods (i call them that since i can't spell hors d'oveurs? eh? that doesn't look right...) at the pemberton's house and hung out with andy's friends josh & lane. i've been hearing about these guys for 3+ years so i kinda felt like i knew them already, but it was good to finally meet them both. josh is possibly the nicest person i've ever met. lane is very entertaining and perhaps a little psycho. i mean that in the nicest way possible. check this out - he was on wheel of fortune last fall and completely dominated, won like $45k or something ridiculous.
daniel, lane, andy, & josh. ugh i really need to clean my camera lens.so, one thing that made me feel good is that everyone seemed to like me. granted, i behaved myself, didn't break anything, and kept the cursing to a minimum. andy kept telling me how much everyone liked me, which wasn't really that shocking, because i am pretty cool. although i i'm sure a select few think i'm crazy and overbearing since i begged andy not to eat a burger king cheeseburger at 1am that was apparently calling his name. but it's always nice to hear that people don't think you're a total bitch.
ps - more pics from bainbridge here
12.15.2008
quite a productive weekend
so andy says to me, "last night i was watching the video game awards..."
good grief.
on a related note, i played some old nintendo games this weekend. andy & i spent the weekend with our friends naomi & brandon at their new house in newnan. brandon has some old game system emulators on his xbox and i spent about 2 hours reliving my childhood. here are my reviews.
while i'm reminiscing on the days of nintendo goodness, check out this video. sometimes i sing this commercial to andy and he thinks i'm making it up. never!
good grief.
on a related note, i played some old nintendo games this weekend. andy & i spent the weekend with our friends naomi & brandon at their new house in newnan. brandon has some old game system emulators on his xbox and i spent about 2 hours reliving my childhood. here are my reviews.
- paper boy:
i figured i would rule at this game since it's been at least 12 years since i last played, but i totally sucked. the concept is ridiculously simple, but it has got to be the hardest game ever. i throw a paper a little too late, which breaks my subscriber's window and for some reason that doesn't count as a delivery? they got their paper, didn't they?! infuriating. - bubble bobble:
i never played this much as a kid, but i remember spending hours watching my brother & his friend chris play it. if you're not familiar with this game, don't waste your time because it is nowhere near as awesome as i remember it being. it has the same music in each level. don't blame me if you can't get the tune out of your head after watching the video... - adventure island 2:
for some reason the original adventure island was not available through the emulator so i had to settle for #2. like bubble bobble, this game is nowhere near as awesome as i remember. andy made fun of it and called it a mario rip-off. i was like, "no way this is totally different," but as i played it...yep...just like mario. the main character rides a dinosaur that looks a lot like a pokemon, although i cannot recall which one. - excitebike:
this game did not disappoint me; it was just as cool as i remembered it. check it out here. - 1943:
this was probably my favorite game when i was younger. i remember renting it numerous times, and then i got it for my birthday when i was like, 8 years old or something. the music is pretty good.
while i'm reminiscing on the days of nintendo goodness, check out this video. sometimes i sing this commercial to andy and he thinks i'm making it up. never!
11.29.2008
what's the good word?
thanksgiving break, full of ups & downs.
pro: lots of food
con: i ate lots of food
pro: had a great hockey dream last night, scored two goals, yes!
con: i dont get to play hockey until january
pro: gt over uga
con: almost gave me a heart attack and i think i have heartburn/indigestion
and if you're wondering what the good word is, it's "to hell with georgia"
pro: lots of food
con: i ate lots of food
pro: had a great hockey dream last night, scored two goals, yes!
con: i dont get to play hockey until january
pro: gt over uga
con: almost gave me a heart attack and i think i have heartburn/indigestion
and if you're wondering what the good word is, it's "to hell with georgia"
9.16.2008
the only reason i have a vick jersey is because it was on clearance at tjmaxx 5 years ago
when all the michael vick stuff went down a while ago i packed my vick jersey into a box with other random crap and stuffed it in the attic. this past sunday i decided to resurrect the jersey and make a few alterations:
see that? i totally turned the "7" into a "2." pretty freakin' sweet if you ask me, but it wasn't very durable. figures. i mean, there's only so much that one can demand of tape and sticky paper. my hair kept getting stuck to the tape, and bits and pieces of paper were sticking to whatever i happened to have my back against, so after a few hours it was back to vick. woof woof.
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8.25.2008
andy will never win
so there's this game my family & i play when we travel - basically if anyone in our group sees anyone he or she knows and can address this person by name and be recognized, he or she wins $20 from the person who initiates the game. if the initiator wins, everyone else who has agreed to the game pays a portion. the game begins only after someone has stated the rules. usually this person is smart enough to initiate once we're away from the home base. sometimes the rules vary, but hopefully you get the idea. a very cool example: my brother saw this dude he knew (the mgr at moe's in dalton) at the top of a mountain in aspen, colorado. we were taking a break from shredding the pow and saw him in a tiny pizza shack at 11,000 feet. we were pretty shocked, and my uncle paid him like 50 bucks or something. so now whenever andy & i travel i always try to get him to agree to the game. we were in the airport in cancun mexico yesterday and i found myself right next to this dude i knew from tech (we had a mutual friend and i used to spend hours copying his code). pretty weird. andy bought me $20 worth of mexican souvenirs. i don't think he wants to play the game anymore.
i'll post a link to the pics from mexico. it was a short trip.
i'll post a link to the pics from mexico. it was a short trip.
8.11.2008
homage to yardsaleaddict.blogspot.com
this past saturday andy and i went to a bunch of yard sales in the vinings/buckhead/smyrna area. i mapped about 12 of 'em out on thursday night and friday afternoon with the help of craigslist, ajc classifieds, and the "my maps" feature of google maps. with andy's gps and my printed map in hand we were ready to spend saturday morning driving around northwest atlanta looking over people's junk.
unfortunately we got a late start (after 9am). but we really weren't looking to buy anything anyway so it didn't make much of a difference. we found a cluster of sales that weren't on my pre-planned route that were puny and we didn't stop. we hit one estate sale in the bunch. it was probably the worst stop of the day, only because my expectations were high since the last estate sale i had been to was really kickass. this one was grungy, and the lady running the sale hadn't even bothered to clean up and organize anything. it was way too obvious that someone had recently died. *shudder.* i did manage to find a prize for my mom buried in a box with a bunch of old books and random stuff. she will be pleased.
the last stop of the morning was the coolest yard/garage sale ever. this sale ruled because:
the only thing that sucked about this yard sale was that it started on friday, and we didn't show up until around 11am on saturday, so most the good stuff was gone. the homeowner had all this really cool historical stuff like bayonets, books, and civil war memorabilia. he also had collectibles and other useless (but awesome) stuff. andy saw a metal pencil sharpener that was shaped like a toilet but didn't buy it because it was three dollars. big mistake. i wish i had gotten a picture of it.
unfortunately we got a late start (after 9am). but we really weren't looking to buy anything anyway so it didn't make much of a difference. we found a cluster of sales that weren't on my pre-planned route that were puny and we didn't stop. we hit one estate sale in the bunch. it was probably the worst stop of the day, only because my expectations were high since the last estate sale i had been to was really kickass. this one was grungy, and the lady running the sale hadn't even bothered to clean up and organize anything. it was way too obvious that someone had recently died. *shudder.* i did manage to find a prize for my mom buried in a box with a bunch of old books and random stuff. she will be pleased.
the last stop of the morning was the coolest yard/garage sale ever. this sale ruled because:
- all items were either clearly displayed on a table or neaty organized in boxes
- items were clean and in good condition
- home owners were friendly and willing to negotiate prices
the only thing that sucked about this yard sale was that it started on friday, and we didn't show up until around 11am on saturday, so most the good stuff was gone. the homeowner had all this really cool historical stuff like bayonets, books, and civil war memorabilia. he also had collectibles and other useless (but awesome) stuff. andy saw a metal pencil sharpener that was shaped like a toilet but didn't buy it because it was three dollars. big mistake. i wish i had gotten a picture of it.
7.28.2008
another unbelievable story
i am house/dog-sitting for my boss (michael) this week while he and his family are on vacation. they live in a neighborhood along the chattahoochee river. andy came over after work on friday to ride his bike around the neighborhood while i ran with the doggies. i got back from running and headed straight for the fridge for some water. saw something moving in my upper periphereal vision:
let me just say that i am not afraid of snakes. but when i found myself face-to-face with this thing i totally freaked out. andy heard me screaming from the garage but thought it was coming from some kids up the street. i made myself calm down a bit before i yelled at him to come upstairs to the kitchen because i didn't want him to think i had accidentally cut my finger off or something. so we're just standing there in the kitchen watching this thing inch along the top of the fridge and of course i grab my camera rather than focus on how to get rid of the snake. the worst part is that about an hour later we found the perfect snake-wrangling tool in michael's workshop.
due to our lack of quick-thinking in an emergency situation the snake escaped behind the vent. we took the vent off and even took the panel off the bottom of the fridge but no snake. the good thing is that i haven't seen him again. the bad thing is that i haven't seen him again. and i'm sleeping in that house.
let me just say that i am not afraid of snakes. but when i found myself face-to-face with this thing i totally freaked out. andy heard me screaming from the garage but thought it was coming from some kids up the street. i made myself calm down a bit before i yelled at him to come upstairs to the kitchen because i didn't want him to think i had accidentally cut my finger off or something. so we're just standing there in the kitchen watching this thing inch along the top of the fridge and of course i grab my camera rather than focus on how to get rid of the snake. the worst part is that about an hour later we found the perfect snake-wrangling tool in michael's workshop.
due to our lack of quick-thinking in an emergency situation the snake escaped behind the vent. we took the vent off and even took the panel off the bottom of the fridge but no snake. the good thing is that i haven't seen him again. the bad thing is that i haven't seen him again. and i'm sleeping in that house.
7.07.2008
would you rather buy awesome fireworks or a car?
andy & i went to his parents lake house for the long weekend. the fireworks were kickass. like, i think these fireworks were better than centennial park's and stone mountain's (maybe even those two shows put together), which came as a surprise to me, because all the fireworks were privately funded. as in, there was no official lake firework show, just a bunch of crazy people with a truckload of fireworks (and a truckload of money). it was rumored that the dude across the cove spent like ten thousand dollars on his show. this guy was shooting those things off for at least an hour, solid, and each one was substantial, none of that fizz & pop crap. so here are some cool photos i took with my dinky little *point-n-shoot camera:
*by the way, my camera is awesome. it's a panasonic lumix FX-10. $150. highly recommended (by me) as a general use camera. takes decent photos in tricky lighting conditions, considering the price. doesn't feel cheap like kodak. mine is blue and is really pretty.
*by the way, my camera is awesome. it's a panasonic lumix FX-10. $150. highly recommended (by me) as a general use camera. takes decent photos in tricky lighting conditions, considering the price. doesn't feel cheap like kodak. mine is blue and is really pretty.
6.30.2008
sometimes i think i could eat 100 nuggets. but i don't order 100 nuggets.
andy wanted me to post this a month ago, so here it is:
this was taken on may 31 at the chickfila in dalton. i'm not sure what i should say. if you're mean (like andy), you are probably assuming this lady is about to enjoy a hearty snack. and by hearty i mean ten pounds of deep-fried goodness. a kinder, gentler soul (such as myself) does not arrive at the same conclusion. maybe all the food in the bag is for her kid's baseball team. so take the above photo for whatever you will. if it doesn't say "fat," i think it definitely says "cankles."
note: getting this photo was quite a risky and complicated operation. i was totally against it, but andy convinced me it'd be good blog material if i was to get a good shot. anything for the fans, ya know? we were sitting at a table right by the door, and i was sure this lady would notice me pointing my camera at her from a short distance of, oh, say, four feet. i tried to catch her just as she was exiting the restaurant but i couldn't get a good shot since i had to keep my camera on the table and kinda behind my drink cup in order to conceal it from her and from other chickfila patrons. i still feel kinda guilty for posting this. bah.
this was taken on may 31 at the chickfila in dalton. i'm not sure what i should say. if you're mean (like andy), you are probably assuming this lady is about to enjoy a hearty snack. and by hearty i mean ten pounds of deep-fried goodness. a kinder, gentler soul (such as myself) does not arrive at the same conclusion. maybe all the food in the bag is for her kid's baseball team. so take the above photo for whatever you will. if it doesn't say "fat," i think it definitely says "cankles."
note: getting this photo was quite a risky and complicated operation. i was totally against it, but andy convinced me it'd be good blog material if i was to get a good shot. anything for the fans, ya know? we were sitting at a table right by the door, and i was sure this lady would notice me pointing my camera at her from a short distance of, oh, say, four feet. i tried to catch her just as she was exiting the restaurant but i couldn't get a good shot since i had to keep my camera on the table and kinda behind my drink cup in order to conceal it from her and from other chickfila patrons. i still feel kinda guilty for posting this. bah.
5.27.2008
i was a good person this weekend
andy & i spent most of memorial day weekend at his parents lake house on lake sinclair. weather was good, water was cold. i fell off the sea doo, which wasn't entirely andy's fault. he was churning up the water pretty good, going round and round in really tight circles so that we were on the verge of rolling over. that's the whole fun of it, and of course i was laughing and screaming and having a great time but my hands hurt bad from hanging onto that stupid strap. if you have ever ridden on the back of one of those things you know what i am talking about. andy stops with the twirling and i let go a little, and of course right then he peels out, hard left and i go flyin' off the back. andy had no clue that he was minus a passenger so he just kept driving, he probably got over 100 yds before he realized he had dumped me off.
we got back to atlanta late on sunday night and took all of our bottles & cans (from the weekend) to the recycling center at tech. it's fairly convenient since it's right off the interstate but it kinda sucks because you have to sort your glass by color, which is kinda hard to do at night, but i don't care because i looove to recycle. i'm quite a fanatic. if i am ever in possession of an empty can/bottle or any other recyclable material and there is not a recycling bin for it nearby, i will stash it in my purse or car and make sure it gets into the proper bin later. i don't go so far as pulling things out of public trash cans, but it angers me when i see trash can full of nothing but recyclable materials. the worst is at ikea, where there are recycling bins throughout the store, right next to the trash can. and of course the can is full of recyclable stuff.
i was planning on going wakeboarding with a few people from the tech club on monday morning, but someone wanted to take her babysitting charges on the boat and i was like hell no, i'm not going if there are kids in the boat. i won't even go into how stupid that is, because later the driver msg'ed me to say this certain person wasn't going to bring the kids after all. i think i had pissed them both off anyway so i figured i'd just sleep in and go another time when the water is warmer. i wonder if she brought the kids anyway. oh and there is so much drama going on in the club it's not even funny. once the club got kickass boats the douchebags came out of the woodwork. i'm definitely on some peoples shit lists right now, which sucks, but oh well.
monday afternoon andy and i had a nice picnic lunch on the patio at his office. yes, the man chose to work that day. since i didn't really have anything better to do, i donated blood at the red cross. it was a personal best time of 14 minutes, boo-yah!
so this weekend i recycled and gave blood. don't you feel like a horrible, horrible person? coincidentally, i also finished reading how to be good by nick hornby.
we got back to atlanta late on sunday night and took all of our bottles & cans (from the weekend) to the recycling center at tech. it's fairly convenient since it's right off the interstate but it kinda sucks because you have to sort your glass by color, which is kinda hard to do at night, but i don't care because i looove to recycle. i'm quite a fanatic. if i am ever in possession of an empty can/bottle or any other recyclable material and there is not a recycling bin for it nearby, i will stash it in my purse or car and make sure it gets into the proper bin later. i don't go so far as pulling things out of public trash cans, but it angers me when i see trash can full of nothing but recyclable materials. the worst is at ikea, where there are recycling bins throughout the store, right next to the trash can. and of course the can is full of recyclable stuff.
i was planning on going wakeboarding with a few people from the tech club on monday morning, but someone wanted to take her babysitting charges on the boat and i was like hell no, i'm not going if there are kids in the boat. i won't even go into how stupid that is, because later the driver msg'ed me to say this certain person wasn't going to bring the kids after all. i think i had pissed them both off anyway so i figured i'd just sleep in and go another time when the water is warmer. i wonder if she brought the kids anyway. oh and there is so much drama going on in the club it's not even funny. once the club got kickass boats the douchebags came out of the woodwork. i'm definitely on some peoples shit lists right now, which sucks, but oh well.
monday afternoon andy and i had a nice picnic lunch on the patio at his office. yes, the man chose to work that day. since i didn't really have anything better to do, i donated blood at the red cross. it was a personal best time of 14 minutes, boo-yah!
so this weekend i recycled and gave blood. don't you feel like a horrible, horrible person? coincidentally, i also finished reading how to be good by nick hornby.
4.14.2008
queue-cutting
i witnessed some textbook line-cutting behavior this weekend, and i'm not talking about methods for cutting rope or twine. andy and i were at callaway gardens for my friend rachel's wedding. there were two incidents of blatant line-cutting within an hour, by the same person. the culprit: someone's grandma or great-aunt. i mean, this lady thought she was slick. she knew no one would call her out on it either because she's old and unassuming.
#1: andy and i were at the back of a somewhat lengthy line to be escorted to our seats. we probably waited in line for five minutes, and all of a sudden this lady appears right next to andy, before we were greeted and handed programs. i mean, no harm really. sometimes you gotta make allowances for elderly or disabled people, but you could tell she knew she was breaking in line because she was kinda looking around, all shifty-eyed...you know the look. and as soon as she saw that andy and i noticed her there, she started muttering to herself, "oh, my, there appears to be a line here, pardon me!" and all that baloney (bologna?). i can see how there may have been a little confusion, because there were actually two activities going on in the back of the garden before the ceremony - some people were milling about and socializing near the ushers, and some people were actually in line to be seated. however, this was the kind of event where one commonly must wait one's turn, and i think that any shred of common sense would lead one to assume there is a line.
#2: upon entering the reception site, andy & i got in line for a drink. there were maybe eight or so people ahead of us in line (one of two lines), and it was moving slowly since there were many options and people seemed to be taking their sweet time deciding what to drink. quite a line had formed behind us as well. next thing ya know, i catch a glimpse of old person entering my periphery, and whaddaya know, it's the same broad. kinda hard to miss in the white suit. the guy behind us in line didn't seem too pleased either, and just when she detected our awareness of her presence, she pulled the same crap as before, kinda looking around and saying "oh goodness me, this must be the line." seriously, lady, what the freaking hell.
BONUS INCIDENT (unrelated to line-breaking, but amusing): i was signing the guest book and noticed that the vase holding the pens was precariously propped up against part of the podium next to the book. didn't look safe. i even said to andy "look, someone's definitely gonna knock this thing off and stuff is gonna go everywhere." about 10 minutes later - CRASH - yep, someone dropped their drink...nope, the same lady knocked the vase off the podium. nice. and then she left.
#1: andy and i were at the back of a somewhat lengthy line to be escorted to our seats. we probably waited in line for five minutes, and all of a sudden this lady appears right next to andy, before we were greeted and handed programs. i mean, no harm really. sometimes you gotta make allowances for elderly or disabled people, but you could tell she knew she was breaking in line because she was kinda looking around, all shifty-eyed...you know the look. and as soon as she saw that andy and i noticed her there, she started muttering to herself, "oh, my, there appears to be a line here, pardon me!" and all that baloney (bologna?). i can see how there may have been a little confusion, because there were actually two activities going on in the back of the garden before the ceremony - some people were milling about and socializing near the ushers, and some people were actually in line to be seated. however, this was the kind of event where one commonly must wait one's turn, and i think that any shred of common sense would lead one to assume there is a line.
#2: upon entering the reception site, andy & i got in line for a drink. there were maybe eight or so people ahead of us in line (one of two lines), and it was moving slowly since there were many options and people seemed to be taking their sweet time deciding what to drink. quite a line had formed behind us as well. next thing ya know, i catch a glimpse of old person entering my periphery, and whaddaya know, it's the same broad. kinda hard to miss in the white suit. the guy behind us in line didn't seem too pleased either, and just when she detected our awareness of her presence, she pulled the same crap as before, kinda looking around and saying "oh goodness me, this must be the line." seriously, lady, what the freaking hell.
BONUS INCIDENT (unrelated to line-breaking, but amusing): i was signing the guest book and noticed that the vase holding the pens was precariously propped up against part of the podium next to the book. didn't look safe. i even said to andy "look, someone's definitely gonna knock this thing off and stuff is gonna go everywhere." about 10 minutes later - CRASH - yep, someone dropped their drink...nope, the same lady knocked the vase off the podium. nice. and then she left.
1.13.2008
the end of a busy weekend
and here begins the last post of my 3-day blog assignment.
met my mom in cartersville at my grandma's house so that she could alter the dress i'm wearing in kristen's wedding. fortunately for her the dress fit pretty well to begin with and nothing drastic needed to be done. but i must say that my mom is a genius with a sewing machine. and she's genius at tons of other stuff too. it's pretty cool having a mom that can do awesome mom stuff, but she kinda screwed me out of learning how to do stuff for myself - when i was a kid she was always cooking, ironing, sewing, gardening, etc. i think i tried sewing once but i was pretty bad. plus, it was always easier for her to sew buttons on and hem my pants so i would always ask her to do it for me. i remember her trying to teach me some baking techniques a few times. i didn't really want to learn so i'd just spill stuff everywhere and act goofy on purpose so that she'd relieve me of my duties. and she did. i think i pulled that crap with doing the laundry as well. so these days i really suck at domestic stuff, but i totally don't care. i've got better things to do than stand around baking casseroles. the cool thing is that andy doesn't seem to mind. poor guy. anyway, i still make my mom hem my pants. but at least i can sew on a button.
oh, i'm not done. i went to kristen's bridal shower luncheon thingy at her parents house at 3pm. and then i went shopping at marshall's for some pants to wear to work, because all the work-appropriate pants i have don't really fit that great and i hate wearing them. plus, they are boring and conservative and i'm really trying to ditch that look. i found some cute pants on the clearance rack (as if i'd shop anywhere else) and i *just* noticed that there is a little embroidered skull and crossbones thingy near the front pocket. pretty rad. and i found a funky skirt on clearance from the "laundry" line by shelli segal so i got that too. i've kinda turned into a brand whore. like, i'll troll through the clearance rack and if its got a "roxy" or "volcom" or similar label then i'm totally game, even if the item isn't that awesome. but yeah, i can get some totally high-quality stuff for cheap. my best pair of ski gloves - patagonia brand - i got at ross in august for 5 bucks. i think those things retailed for $80. aight this is getting boring...
maybe if you're lucky i'll post something before next week. ;-)
met my mom in cartersville at my grandma's house so that she could alter the dress i'm wearing in kristen's wedding. fortunately for her the dress fit pretty well to begin with and nothing drastic needed to be done. but i must say that my mom is a genius with a sewing machine. and she's genius at tons of other stuff too. it's pretty cool having a mom that can do awesome mom stuff, but she kinda screwed me out of learning how to do stuff for myself - when i was a kid she was always cooking, ironing, sewing, gardening, etc. i think i tried sewing once but i was pretty bad. plus, it was always easier for her to sew buttons on and hem my pants so i would always ask her to do it for me. i remember her trying to teach me some baking techniques a few times. i didn't really want to learn so i'd just spill stuff everywhere and act goofy on purpose so that she'd relieve me of my duties. and she did. i think i pulled that crap with doing the laundry as well. so these days i really suck at domestic stuff, but i totally don't care. i've got better things to do than stand around baking casseroles. the cool thing is that andy doesn't seem to mind. poor guy. anyway, i still make my mom hem my pants. but at least i can sew on a button.
oh, i'm not done. i went to kristen's bridal shower luncheon thingy at her parents house at 3pm. and then i went shopping at marshall's for some pants to wear to work, because all the work-appropriate pants i have don't really fit that great and i hate wearing them. plus, they are boring and conservative and i'm really trying to ditch that look. i found some cute pants on the clearance rack (as if i'd shop anywhere else) and i *just* noticed that there is a little embroidered skull and crossbones thingy near the front pocket. pretty rad. and i found a funky skirt on clearance from the "laundry" line by shelli segal so i got that too. i've kinda turned into a brand whore. like, i'll troll through the clearance rack and if its got a "roxy" or "volcom" or similar label then i'm totally game, even if the item isn't that awesome. but yeah, i can get some totally high-quality stuff for cheap. my best pair of ski gloves - patagonia brand - i got at ross in august for 5 bucks. i think those things retailed for $80. aight this is getting boring...
maybe if you're lucky i'll post something before next week. ;-)
saturday
this post about saturday begins where friday's left off - at the stroke of midnight, i was playing ice hockey at the cooler. the game went until about 1:30am and then there was some drinking & grilling. i am very excited about my team this season, mainly because our jerseys are black, which is really kick-ass. i am also pumped because some people told me i have improved about 100% from last season. i also like the fact that there are four girls on the team.
saturday afternoon andy went with me to target to exchange some shoes. immediately we noticed that it was "bring your baby to target day." ugh. there were babies everywhere. babies in carriers, babies in the shopping carts, babies strapped to their parents' chests...you seriously could not escape them. one of them looked at me and i got nervous. anyway, once we got out of baby-fest 2008 we went to tjmaxx. navigating through the parking lot was a complete disaster. we ended up parking on the side of some building waaaay far away, due to the chaos. there was a big q100 banner and then i remembered what the madness was about - q100 was sponsoring free self defense seminars for women all over the metro area as a response to the situation with meredith emerson, the lone north georgia hiker who went missing and was found dead three days later. anyway, i think these seminars are a pretty good idea, because like, even people that have martial arts training don't know what techniques to use when someone is actually trying to hurt them. i mean, a spin-stomp-kick wheel-kick combo might look pretty cool, but you're better off just kicking the guy in the balls.
and of course, i must mention the events of saturday evening - kristen's bachelorette party. met some new people, chatted with some old georgia tech band acquaintances, ate lots of gluten-free food, and talked about girl stuff. i was definitely the drunkest one there, which was the role i had planned on assuming. anyway, it was not your typical penis-themed party, which i was thankful for.
saturday afternoon andy went with me to target to exchange some shoes. immediately we noticed that it was "bring your baby to target day." ugh. there were babies everywhere. babies in carriers, babies in the shopping carts, babies strapped to their parents' chests...you seriously could not escape them. one of them looked at me and i got nervous. anyway, once we got out of baby-fest 2008 we went to tjmaxx. navigating through the parking lot was a complete disaster. we ended up parking on the side of some building waaaay far away, due to the chaos. there was a big q100 banner and then i remembered what the madness was about - q100 was sponsoring free self defense seminars for women all over the metro area as a response to the situation with meredith emerson, the lone north georgia hiker who went missing and was found dead three days later. anyway, i think these seminars are a pretty good idea, because like, even people that have martial arts training don't know what techniques to use when someone is actually trying to hurt them. i mean, a spin-stomp-kick wheel-kick combo might look pretty cool, but you're better off just kicking the guy in the balls.
and of course, i must mention the events of saturday evening - kristen's bachelorette party. met some new people, chatted with some old georgia tech band acquaintances, ate lots of gluten-free food, and talked about girl stuff. i was definitely the drunkest one there, which was the role i had planned on assuming. anyway, it was not your typical penis-themed party, which i was thankful for.
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