Anyone else out there watch Game of Thrones? I seem to hear a lot about it, but I rarely watch shows on premium channels because I'm not used to having them.
We recently switched from cable to satellite because our cable company told us something different every time we called for help during our move ("yes you can have cable a both places" then "no, as soon as you activated at your new how we cut off your old house" and "yes it's a free self install" then later a bill for $119? for new service installation). We got tired of the half-truths and just opted to switch to an new company. I sure that won't be headache free either, but it seems we are addicted to TV so we've got to have some fix.
When I was single I just used whatever that thing is were shows already aired are automatically saved -- it's one network, I think, but it's the one with all the forensic shows. So on my weekend binge of a couple glasses of wine, pizza and an evening of TV I would go out and watch one series all the way through -- whatever 4 or 5 shows had accumulated since I last watched. One weekend it was CSI:Miami, another was CSI:NY, the next Numb3rs, etc. And sometimes Becca and I would swap DVDs for other shows like Bones. I liked it because you could watch a whole series in a row and see the storyline unfold without the annoying weeklong lapse between them. Like reading a couple of chapters in a book but in a passive, more visual way. But about the time I moved in with Iggy, I had basically caught up on all the DVDs and they'd replaced my favorite character on CSI:NY and CSI:Miami seemed like all bikinis and soap opera drama so I was looking for new distractions.
Iggy and I have established a routine of recording shows and watching them as a "wind-down" in the evening. I switched to some of the comedies he likes (Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother) and probably eliminated from his list the shows I didn't feel like getting caught up on (Weeds or Entourage). At any rate we both have a couple of shows that we don't watch together but for the most part we have some joint shows we watch in the evenings. Summer is a slow time for shows I have come to realize. I have been sucked into the reality show vortex, much to my chagrin, and we watch Big Brother. Sometimes I will consent to watching cooking reality shows but mostly I hate the yelling and I get sad when they send home someone I am rooting for, so I mostly avoid them. I love Storage Wars and Pawn Stars, but they're a little formulaic, I guess, because I feel like I've seen the episode even when I know we're watching a new one.
Which brings me back to Game of Thrones. I had been hearing about it and was starting to feel a little left out. We discovered that we can see season 1 from the equivalent of "on demand" for satellite. So we watched the first one and I was hooked on the storyline. But 2 beheadings and a couple battles where guts spill out all over the place and what seemed like an excessive amount of sex even for an adult cable show that's not a porn network had me wondering if I was cut out to watch this show. And also wondering what the script looks like...during the "wedding scene" does it say "Man 1 engages in gratuitous but very fake fucking from behind with Woman A. Man 2 pulls him away and takes over, while Man 1 pretends to reel from the force before..."? And who do you write the choreography for both fighting/fucking?
Anyways...I kept thinking about the story. I was bummed that the 10-year-old boy probably died, wondered if, by some Hollywood miracle, he survived, wondered if his family figured out he was pushed out the window instead of falling. I wasn't quite sure I understood the blond woman/man (not the white-haired brother/sister). I thought they were brother/sister but then they get caught ... getting it on (I've probably over-used the other word). And I thought she was the queen...of the one guy who asked Ned to be his right hand man. I can't remember half the names yet and I would probably have a hard time spelling them anyways. Iggy and I were talking about the plot and he'd read a plot summary somewhere - turns out the blond chick is the queen and she is having an affair with her brother. Which is good, I guess, because it means I wasn't quite as befuddled as I thought I was. The summary also said they were twins -- oh, ok, good to know, and I probably did miss that clue during the show.
So I decided I'd give the show one more try. Season 1, Episode 2 didn't have as much of the beheadings/gut-spilling/fucking but at the end they have to kill an innocent and very cute dog. So I'm sitting there with tears streaming down my face thinking of the irony that cable networks will show humans being gutted and beheaded but won't show them stabbing a dog to kill it. I don't really understand that. But the episode did clear up a few things and we turned on the closed captioning so I can start to remember names.
Episode 3 was even milder -- did anyone even die? I don't remember...
But the plot continues to captivate me, so I guess I'm hooked now, for better or for worse. I don't really understand my attraction to the show just yet but at least it really does live up to the hype (so far) of being captivating. I feel a little guilty for spending my time thinking (and blogging) about it. Most of my other shows, I just watch and as soon as they're over I am done thinking about them.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Search Engine Serendipity
In a strange piece of serendipity I found an old mystery book online while searching for a painting I saw on pinterest where the link was broken. I forgot what words I was using. At any rate, the words "yellow dress" we're a part of my search.
The book had a yellow dress on the cover, but it wasn't prominently featured. The story does pivot around a murder victim found without her dress on - and later you find out that it was a bright yellow dress. So I am a little amazed and intrigued by how the book came up and how the search engines work. Not probably enough to do any research, but the thought did cross my mind. I used to know some of that stuff when I worked closer to web development and web content.
The book is written in the late 1950's and several "time period" things amused me.
One was when the lead detective/narrator is thinking about possible suspects for the murder. He goes through each in turn listing the listing the pros and cons. For one he mentions the irony of this person and that it would be comparable to a cheap dime novel from the discount store. I had to go look at the cover for the price of this novel. I know you are scrolling up to see the cover again now! I was pleased to see how high my standards apparently would've been 50 years ago.
Another thing that got me thinking was this passage:
Is this hopelessly out of date because of the social norms back then? Or are we just too blasé today to actually care enough to help out? The recent "movie theater massacre" and the outpouring of sympathy, visits by celebrities, foundations, donations, etc. lead me to think it isn't the latter. But it is hard for me to be objective about this since it is my hometown currently and, while we are always one degree away from personally knowing someone, we have been to that theater and Iggy's work is close to it.
The other thing that was continually fun about reading this book was the old library smell it had. It is a slim book (less than 200 pages, but I actually mean it is small in size since it was slightly bigger than a 3x5 photo and about as thin as my iPad). But the smell never went away in the 3 months I've had the book or the week it took me to read it. I wonder when they will have smell-o-vision (I already have a 3d tv so at least smell-o-vision movies can't be far off) or smell-enhanced e-books.
I did find the painting I was looking for, by the way, but it wasn't anything I saved or thought about buying. But I did enjoy reading the old book I did end up buying. And I look forward to my next Search Engine Serendipity.
The book had a yellow dress on the cover, but it wasn't prominently featured. The story does pivot around a murder victim found without her dress on - and later you find out that it was a bright yellow dress. So I am a little amazed and intrigued by how the book came up and how the search engines work. Not probably enough to do any research, but the thought did cross my mind. I used to know some of that stuff when I worked closer to web development and web content.
The book is written in the late 1950's and several "time period" things amused me.
One was when the lead detective/narrator is thinking about possible suspects for the murder. He goes through each in turn listing the listing the pros and cons. For one he mentions the irony of this person and that it would be comparable to a cheap dime novel from the discount store. I had to go look at the cover for the price of this novel. I know you are scrolling up to see the cover again now! I was pleased to see how high my standards apparently would've been 50 years ago.
Another thing that got me thinking was this passage:
Justice and vengeance were no longer the motivations of this manhunt. The women who had yesterday scolded their men, "Al, [or Ray, or Joe,] if you think you're going out chasing into that swamp half the night for that lunatic you've got another think coming. Let the Sheriff get him. He's paid to do it," would now be silent in the face of yet another killing. The men would, most of them, not even have consulted their women. They would have quietly listened to the news broadcasts and as quietly gone to the closets or the attics for whatever weapon they happened to own. The women would have understood that this was, after all, a man's world and that men must band together for the defense of their homes and their women...
Is this hopelessly out of date because of the social norms back then? Or are we just too blasé today to actually care enough to help out? The recent "movie theater massacre" and the outpouring of sympathy, visits by celebrities, foundations, donations, etc. lead me to think it isn't the latter. But it is hard for me to be objective about this since it is my hometown currently and, while we are always one degree away from personally knowing someone, we have been to that theater and Iggy's work is close to it.
The other thing that was continually fun about reading this book was the old library smell it had. It is a slim book (less than 200 pages, but I actually mean it is small in size since it was slightly bigger than a 3x5 photo and about as thin as my iPad). But the smell never went away in the 3 months I've had the book or the week it took me to read it. I wonder when they will have smell-o-vision (I already have a 3d tv so at least smell-o-vision movies can't be far off) or smell-enhanced e-books.
I did find the painting I was looking for, by the way, but it wasn't anything I saved or thought about buying. But I did enjoy reading the old book I did end up buying. And I look forward to my next Search Engine Serendipity.
Mixed Emotions
My mom waited until 6:45am to call me on the Friday after the shootings at the Aurora movie theater. Oddly, I was already up and working, but I hadn't opened a web browser to see the news yet, so I had no idea what she was talking about. After I did read the story I was amazed at her restraint for not calling the minute she heard (I will always be "her little girl," I suppose). During that day several of my coworkers (who are all over the country, but not in Colorado) IM'ed or emailed to see if I was ok, which was cool. I tried to not obsessively check news updates or Facebook, but it was hard not to look at Facebook especially. I felt relief each time I saw someone post that they weren't at the theater. Mostly I was probably just like everyone else: numb, shocked, confused, outraged and sad.
I had to fly out Monday after for work and I had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand it turned out that my friends most likely to be at the midnight release of batman were all at other theaters and we didn't personally know anyone there. So there was no reason that I couldn't go. But Iggy's work is close to the theater and a large portion of the people he comes into contact with regularly at work could've been directly affected. I didn't really think he would need emotional support after his first day back at work but I also really just wanted to be at home with him. Not for him, but for me.
I wasn't sure what to expect from my client or my coworkers while on-site that week since they all know where I live. The client was silent. I am not sure if this was out of respect or because they didn't make the association or if they only recognize drama directly involving themselves. My coworkers all asked quietly, unobtrusively, on their own, and at different times about it. When talk would come up about the movie I would have a slightly jarring hiccuping in my emotions but hopefully it wasn't apparent to others. I am trying not to have the association with the movie or the theater itself.
I wonder if the theater can successfully reopen or how businesses at the mall will be impacted over time. I have mixed emotions about seeing the movie (I want to, but I don't want to, and I don't think I would enjoy it at the theater now, but then I feel like maybe I should force myself just so I get over any issue I have).
One of the days I was on-site I saw this ad in USA Today at the hotel.
http://www.demandaplan.org/ad-large
I was shocked, probably a little angry at first, but almost as immediately was glad for free speech giving these people the right to print the ad, and the paper having no reason to censure it. Then maybe a little guilty because these people have certainly fallen off my radar as I know, eventually, even the ones in my hometown will. And that makes me sad too.
Last week, on vacation, when asked where we are from, Iggy and I say, "Denver" out of habit. (Everyone assumes Denver, Colorado, but it used to be that people either didn't recognize Aurora as being in Colorado or first thought of an Aurora in another state first. So it was always easier to go with the name recognition and the habit formed.) This had the nice side effect of allowing whoever was asking to bring up the Aurora incident if they wanted to or not. By this time I am less sensitive to the conversation. And probably about half the people think of (or mention) the fires this summer in Colorado first.
I am glad the Olympics are on this week to take some of the focus away from negative events and give us something to collectively get behind. But then I wonder if this is already making the victims feels forgotten. I am still seeing news stories about the suspect or gun control laws using that as a springboard, and while I have a need to know more in hopes of eventually gaining some understanding, I fear the media making too much of the negative pieces of this story.
No answers, just lots of questions. Let me know what you think.
I had to fly out Monday after for work and I had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand it turned out that my friends most likely to be at the midnight release of batman were all at other theaters and we didn't personally know anyone there. So there was no reason that I couldn't go. But Iggy's work is close to the theater and a large portion of the people he comes into contact with regularly at work could've been directly affected. I didn't really think he would need emotional support after his first day back at work but I also really just wanted to be at home with him. Not for him, but for me.
I wasn't sure what to expect from my client or my coworkers while on-site that week since they all know where I live. The client was silent. I am not sure if this was out of respect or because they didn't make the association or if they only recognize drama directly involving themselves. My coworkers all asked quietly, unobtrusively, on their own, and at different times about it. When talk would come up about the movie I would have a slightly jarring hiccuping in my emotions but hopefully it wasn't apparent to others. I am trying not to have the association with the movie or the theater itself.
I wonder if the theater can successfully reopen or how businesses at the mall will be impacted over time. I have mixed emotions about seeing the movie (I want to, but I don't want to, and I don't think I would enjoy it at the theater now, but then I feel like maybe I should force myself just so I get over any issue I have).
One of the days I was on-site I saw this ad in USA Today at the hotel.
http://www.demandaplan.org/ad-large
I was shocked, probably a little angry at first, but almost as immediately was glad for free speech giving these people the right to print the ad, and the paper having no reason to censure it. Then maybe a little guilty because these people have certainly fallen off my radar as I know, eventually, even the ones in my hometown will. And that makes me sad too.
Last week, on vacation, when asked where we are from, Iggy and I say, "Denver" out of habit. (Everyone assumes Denver, Colorado, but it used to be that people either didn't recognize Aurora as being in Colorado or first thought of an Aurora in another state first. So it was always easier to go with the name recognition and the habit formed.) This had the nice side effect of allowing whoever was asking to bring up the Aurora incident if they wanted to or not. By this time I am less sensitive to the conversation. And probably about half the people think of (or mention) the fires this summer in Colorado first.
I am glad the Olympics are on this week to take some of the focus away from negative events and give us something to collectively get behind. But then I wonder if this is already making the victims feels forgotten. I am still seeing news stories about the suspect or gun control laws using that as a springboard, and while I have a need to know more in hopes of eventually gaining some understanding, I fear the media making too much of the negative pieces of this story.
No answers, just lots of questions. Let me know what you think.
Maui - Day 9 - Leaving
I managed to get up after only one snooze. I am not ready for vacation to be over, but I am looking forward to being in my house, sleeping in my bed, eating regular food, seeing the dog and catching up with Becca (who was on vacation when we started our adventure). After unzipping the extender on my suitcase I can fit in most of the souvenirs.
~~~
The lei ceremony is nice. I like the history our hostess includes and I tear up when she talks about how the 9/11 events stranded people on the island and changed tourism. One old guy next to us, who was late to the ceremony, whispers to his wife that he thought they were getting a special lei and that this is a boring, typical one. I guess I am too gullible and soft because I leave less inclined to be grumpy about the little things and add-ons which have been annoying me so far (no wi-fi in the room and Internet charges are $10/day, parking is $9/day, etc.). But I also remember the beach rental guys letting us use an umbrella and chairs late one afternoon free of charge and extending our snorkel rental from 2 to 24 hours without charging us the extra.
~~~
We leave the hotel on time and have no problems getting to the gate. We have time for one last drink and lunch before the plane boards. Our plane is late taking off and we once again are trying to connect to the last flight of the day with a 30-minute window. We didn't do the research to know we were taking "last flights of the day" and we figured that if American Airlines would sell the flights then they were reasonable layovers. We will know better next time...not sure how today will turn out...but I am sure it will all be fine in the end (just not maybe exactly as we planned it).
~~~
Aloha!
~~~
The lei ceremony is nice. I like the history our hostess includes and I tear up when she talks about how the 9/11 events stranded people on the island and changed tourism. One old guy next to us, who was late to the ceremony, whispers to his wife that he thought they were getting a special lei and that this is a boring, typical one. I guess I am too gullible and soft because I leave less inclined to be grumpy about the little things and add-ons which have been annoying me so far (no wi-fi in the room and Internet charges are $10/day, parking is $9/day, etc.). But I also remember the beach rental guys letting us use an umbrella and chairs late one afternoon free of charge and extending our snorkel rental from 2 to 24 hours without charging us the extra.
~~~
We leave the hotel on time and have no problems getting to the gate. We have time for one last drink and lunch before the plane boards. Our plane is late taking off and we once again are trying to connect to the last flight of the day with a 30-minute window. We didn't do the research to know we were taking "last flights of the day" and we figured that if American Airlines would sell the flights then they were reasonable layovers. We will know better next time...not sure how today will turn out...but I am sure it will all be fine in the end (just not maybe exactly as we planned it).
~~~
Aloha!
Maui - Day 8 - Luau
We realized sometime yesterday that we hadn't figured out when to go to the luau and that we had only one night left here on the island. While we fear that this is simply a tourist trap we feel sorta obligated to participate. Not knowing what we missed out on would bug me after we left. So the first order of business today is to see if there are any last minute spots available at any luau on Maui. As luck would have it the Royal Lahaina Luau, just a 15 minute walk from our hotel has spots open. So we swallow our objection to the price and buy the tickets.
-:-:-:-
We spend the last afternoon unintentionally burning ourselves in a short beach layout/swimming session and going back to Leilanni's on the Beach for individual portions of those fabulous pork nachos (diet to start in T minus 2 days and counting). The waitress comments that we must've been here before since we ordered so fast and starts to walk away after I order my nachos. She is a little surprised when Iggy orders his. I tell her, "I am not sharing this time!" She laughs and says she likes my style. Back in the hotel I start organizing the scrapbook we have brought along (my first/paper anniversary present from Iggy that we didn't use since we canceled last year's anniversary trip). I had only put stuff in for day one so far and I did that on day three. So I feel a little bad for making Iggy pack it for the trip. (But I also packed 2dresses and 1shirt that I didn't end up using. Either packing isn't my strong suit or I like having options...). I don't paste anything else in but I do get my bits torn our of magazines/brochures and put in between the pages where they go.
-:-:-:-
It isn't long until its time for the luau. We arrive later than we wanted to because I am dilly-dallying. There are maybe 20 people behind us in line and we hear someone say that there are 600 people in attendance. The women taking receipts and handing out table tokens skip us, but we figure it out and ask them before we get to the seating area. Once there the hostess tells us to go to a certain person in costume for seating. We do, but when we get there he walks off. (I think he was trying to find 2 seats for the couple in front of us.) We wait for a bit then try to chase him down. I am irritated and not looking forward to the crowd. I ask Iggy if we can just ask for our money back. I debate asking him this again after we are seated at a table where they sorta split up a family to fit us in and there are 5 adults with 6 children on our other side (2 of which seem to be screaming or crying at any given moment - the kids, I mean, but a couple of the adults don't look too far away from some sort of outburst themselves). I am not particularly hungry since we had lunch a little late. At one point the mom of family next to us with 4 kids sends the dad off again to the restroom with one of the little boys and the dad says, jokingly, "Boy is this fun! We should have another one! Oh wait! We are!" ai yi yi.
-:-:-:-
The dinner is pretty good, but the uniquely Hawaiian items like poi and the coconut dessert we have already tried at other restaurants. The big hit for me were the chicken nuggets and mac'n'cheese that I took off the kid's buffet. Just kidding! At one point the mom i mentioned earlier asks her oldest boy if he ate the icing off her chocolate cake. He vehemently denies it, and she asks me if he did. I actually have no idea since I have been watching the rest of the crowd and am working on my 2nd or 3rd mai tai. The sorta split up family on Iggy's side is interesting to talk to. They were on their family vacation to the big island earlier this summer. But his work sent him here for a conference, so he brought the family again. He tells his teenage boys they are spoiled and they laugh good-naturedly.
-:-:-:-
The show is good; the emcee is mildly entertaining and the dancers are good. There is considerably less belly-aching from the kids next to us now that they're fed and the show has started. The guy who seated us is introduced as the Polynesian Prince during one dance. Iggy jokes that he's disappointed that a prince has to do a menial job like seating us. I like the New Zealand dance where the dancers wear face paint and do all the posturing intended to intimidate strangers. I especially like the parts where they make their eyes wide and crazy-looking while sticking their tongues out. There is one dancer who reminds me of The Rock who seems to really be getting into it and there is a lady close to the stage with a big camera who seems to particularly like taking his picture. The fire dancing seems pretty good but with all the hype I was expecting more (supposedly this show has the most). I guess the other shows must just walk a torch across the stage and call it good. (kidding) All in all, I am glad we went but I don't think I would go again unless I was with someone who had never been or a big group of people that wanted to go.
-:-:-:-
Back at the room I am not interested in packing...so uncharacteristically I decide to get up early tomorrow to do that.
-:-:-:-
We spend the last afternoon unintentionally burning ourselves in a short beach layout/swimming session and going back to Leilanni's on the Beach for individual portions of those fabulous pork nachos (diet to start in T minus 2 days and counting). The waitress comments that we must've been here before since we ordered so fast and starts to walk away after I order my nachos. She is a little surprised when Iggy orders his. I tell her, "I am not sharing this time!" She laughs and says she likes my style. Back in the hotel I start organizing the scrapbook we have brought along (my first/paper anniversary present from Iggy that we didn't use since we canceled last year's anniversary trip). I had only put stuff in for day one so far and I did that on day three. So I feel a little bad for making Iggy pack it for the trip. (But I also packed 2dresses and 1shirt that I didn't end up using. Either packing isn't my strong suit or I like having options...). I don't paste anything else in but I do get my bits torn our of magazines/brochures and put in between the pages where they go.
-:-:-:-
It isn't long until its time for the luau. We arrive later than we wanted to because I am dilly-dallying. There are maybe 20 people behind us in line and we hear someone say that there are 600 people in attendance. The women taking receipts and handing out table tokens skip us, but we figure it out and ask them before we get to the seating area. Once there the hostess tells us to go to a certain person in costume for seating. We do, but when we get there he walks off. (I think he was trying to find 2 seats for the couple in front of us.) We wait for a bit then try to chase him down. I am irritated and not looking forward to the crowd. I ask Iggy if we can just ask for our money back. I debate asking him this again after we are seated at a table where they sorta split up a family to fit us in and there are 5 adults with 6 children on our other side (2 of which seem to be screaming or crying at any given moment - the kids, I mean, but a couple of the adults don't look too far away from some sort of outburst themselves). I am not particularly hungry since we had lunch a little late. At one point the mom of family next to us with 4 kids sends the dad off again to the restroom with one of the little boys and the dad says, jokingly, "Boy is this fun! We should have another one! Oh wait! We are!" ai yi yi.
-:-:-:-
The dinner is pretty good, but the uniquely Hawaiian items like poi and the coconut dessert we have already tried at other restaurants. The big hit for me were the chicken nuggets and mac'n'cheese that I took off the kid's buffet. Just kidding! At one point the mom i mentioned earlier asks her oldest boy if he ate the icing off her chocolate cake. He vehemently denies it, and she asks me if he did. I actually have no idea since I have been watching the rest of the crowd and am working on my 2nd or 3rd mai tai. The sorta split up family on Iggy's side is interesting to talk to. They were on their family vacation to the big island earlier this summer. But his work sent him here for a conference, so he brought the family again. He tells his teenage boys they are spoiled and they laugh good-naturedly.
-:-:-:-
The show is good; the emcee is mildly entertaining and the dancers are good. There is considerably less belly-aching from the kids next to us now that they're fed and the show has started. The guy who seated us is introduced as the Polynesian Prince during one dance. Iggy jokes that he's disappointed that a prince has to do a menial job like seating us. I like the New Zealand dance where the dancers wear face paint and do all the posturing intended to intimidate strangers. I especially like the parts where they make their eyes wide and crazy-looking while sticking their tongues out. There is one dancer who reminds me of The Rock who seems to really be getting into it and there is a lady close to the stage with a big camera who seems to particularly like taking his picture. The fire dancing seems pretty good but with all the hype I was expecting more (supposedly this show has the most). I guess the other shows must just walk a torch across the stage and call it good. (kidding) All in all, I am glad we went but I don't think I would go again unless I was with someone who had never been or a big group of people that wanted to go.
-:-:-:-
Back at the room I am not interested in packing...so uncharacteristically I decide to get up early tomorrow to do that.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Maui - Day 7 - Exploring the Island
We tried snorkeling in the morning, but the current was strong and it was hard to get anywhere. Plus the people who were out were oblivious. A paddle boarder almost ran into us, one woman that couldn't swim and was using a wake board to help her float while snorkeling was all over the place, etc. We did see a couple of eels and a ton of fish. Where the current was strongest it looked like a fish parking lot -- they were all hovering on the ocean floor a couple of inches away from each other.
~ ~ ~
The first stop on our island adventure was The Maui Tropical Plantation. It was more of a tourist trap than I wished for, but it was cool to see all the different plants and the coconut husking demonstration.
We had lunch on site at a BBQ place - good food, but the chickens wandering around were a bit unnerving. The highlight of lunch was listening to a teenage girl talk about how cute the baby chicks were before ordering her chicken sandwich. We left before she got her food - I was afraid Iggy would ask her if her sandwich was also cute.
We took the train ride, but probably could've seen all the sites walking. It was fun to see the zip line stations on the plantation. They seemed positively tame compared to the zip lines we did in Jalisco, Mexico...wonder if the safety regulations are different?
A couple of shots from the plantation:
~ ~ ~
The second stop on our island exploration was the Ali'i Kula Lavender farm. This was less tourist-y and more off the beaten path (read as the roads leading there were narrow, windy, and we were not really sure we were on the right path). I wanted to see the purple fields like you see in pictures from the French lavender fields (which we did see) but the bonus was the view. The farm is at 4000 feet and you can see the "skinny" part of Maui with ocean on both sides.
We had lavender scones at the gift shop before continuing on our adventure.
~ ~ ~
Next was a little random driving. We stopped at a farm stand to buy bananas and a papaya for breakfast tomorrow. We drove through Paia (cute town - maybe a place to stay next time), stopped at a scenic overlook and drove a little bit of the Hana highway.
~ ~ ~
Last stop was Mama's Fish House for dinner. It was highly recommended and lived up to the hype. It was even worth the hour drive back to the hotel. We were early and didn't really get to watch the sun set from our table, but we did have a nice beach view.
~ ~ ~
Back at the hotel we watched the Olympics again (Michael Phelps 3-peat! Gabby wins gold!) and then the local news. Local news is an adventure regardless of where you are. There was some news on a guy who got his foot bitten by a shark while surfing (minor injuries, he'll be back out there again ASAP he says) and a beach where some palm trees were mysteriously cut down. The beach regulars blame the guy across the street and made a sign saying so. The guy across the street took the sign down and says the forest service cut down the trees. The forest service says "not us." Wheeeeee!
~ ~ ~
The first stop on our island adventure was The Maui Tropical Plantation. It was more of a tourist trap than I wished for, but it was cool to see all the different plants and the coconut husking demonstration.
We had lunch on site at a BBQ place - good food, but the chickens wandering around were a bit unnerving. The highlight of lunch was listening to a teenage girl talk about how cute the baby chicks were before ordering her chicken sandwich. We left before she got her food - I was afraid Iggy would ask her if her sandwich was also cute.
We took the train ride, but probably could've seen all the sites walking. It was fun to see the zip line stations on the plantation. They seemed positively tame compared to the zip lines we did in Jalisco, Mexico...wonder if the safety regulations are different?
A couple of shots from the plantation:
~ ~ ~
The second stop on our island exploration was the Ali'i Kula Lavender farm. This was less tourist-y and more off the beaten path (read as the roads leading there were narrow, windy, and we were not really sure we were on the right path). I wanted to see the purple fields like you see in pictures from the French lavender fields (which we did see) but the bonus was the view. The farm is at 4000 feet and you can see the "skinny" part of Maui with ocean on both sides.
We had lavender scones at the gift shop before continuing on our adventure.
~ ~ ~
Next was a little random driving. We stopped at a farm stand to buy bananas and a papaya for breakfast tomorrow. We drove through Paia (cute town - maybe a place to stay next time), stopped at a scenic overlook and drove a little bit of the Hana highway.
~ ~ ~
Last stop was Mama's Fish House for dinner. It was highly recommended and lived up to the hype. It was even worth the hour drive back to the hotel. We were early and didn't really get to watch the sun set from our table, but we did have a nice beach view.
~ ~ ~
Back at the hotel we watched the Olympics again (Michael Phelps 3-peat! Gabby wins gold!) and then the local news. Local news is an adventure regardless of where you are. There was some news on a guy who got his foot bitten by a shark while surfing (minor injuries, he'll be back out there again ASAP he says) and a beach where some palm trees were mysteriously cut down. The beach regulars blame the guy across the street and made a sign saying so. The guy across the street took the sign down and says the forest service cut down the trees. The forest service says "not us." Wheeeeee!
Location:Maui, HI
Maui - Day 6 - Beach Day
Snorkeling in the morning - we say 3 spotted rays and a huge turtle! I was pretty surprised because we went in the late morning and there were probably 25 other snorkelers in the same area. (Luckily it is easy to spread out a little and the first bend in the shoreline weeds out most of the snorkelers.) It was so good we extended our equipment rental from 2 hours to "all day" so we could go the next morning too!
- - -
Lunch at Leilanni's on the Beach - this time we got the nachos! Surprisingly they surpassed our expectations after thinking about them for 2 days! They had a chipotle sour cream and a habernero salsa (not overpowering) and we added the shredded pork option. I would recommended it (if you like nachos).
- - -
Beach time
- - -
Dinner at Paradise Grill. The opposite of our dining experience last night. I asked for a glass of cabernet. The waitress brought me the cocktail menu (which says "ask your server for seasonal wine selections"). I decided a cocktail might be safer. The waitress was difficult to understand, flighty and made me nervous. The pizza was great, though, and we got to watch the olympics on the TV near our table as we ate.
- - -
Lunch at Leilanni's on the Beach - this time we got the nachos! Surprisingly they surpassed our expectations after thinking about them for 2 days! They had a chipotle sour cream and a habernero salsa (not overpowering) and we added the shredded pork option. I would recommended it (if you like nachos).
- - -
Beach time
- - -
Dinner at Paradise Grill. The opposite of our dining experience last night. I asked for a glass of cabernet. The waitress brought me the cocktail menu (which says "ask your server for seasonal wine selections"). I decided a cocktail might be safer. The waitress was difficult to understand, flighty and made me nervous. The pizza was great, though, and we got to watch the olympics on the TV near our table as we ate.
Maui - Day 5 - Anniversary!
We started the day with cheerios in our room (to avoid the expensive and over-indulgent buffet downstairs) and a quick "swim" in the ocean but then got ready for our big plans. We were taking a helicopter tour of west Maui and Molokai! Plus we had dinner reservations at a local up-and-coming restaurant.
It took just under an hour to drive back to Kahalui where the airport is. Once there we had to weigh in (eek!) so they could balance the helicopter. We had to go through some safety items - similar to when on an airplane - but this time it felt a little more real. I'm not sure if that was because I had to wear a life vest in a pack around my waist for the whole trip or if I think helicopters are less stable or if I just actually haven't heard 100 times how to jettison helicopter doors in case of a water landing.
Our pilot was Shaylan. Iggy thought that he "just looked" like a helicopter pilot. Since I was sitting next to him he started by showing me the controls on the floor and making sure I knew not to bump them with my legs. He told us about what we were seeing as we flew over it and often told jokes that only he really understood. He would ask us questions and try to read our lips as we answered (he was the only person miked).
The views were spectacular - so many waterfalls and so much green in the landscapes and blues in the water. It was a little hazy since there seem to be clouds sitting on the tops of the mountains here a lot.
As we were driving back to our hotel, we got a little lost, but had the happy accident of stumbling across Wow Wee Maui - a local sushi and burger place. We stopped in for lunch and bought a Wow Wee Maui Potato Chip and Milk Chocolate candy bar (yum!).
* * *
After a little nap and looking through our photos and a little balcony time, we got ready to head over to dinner at David Paul's Island Grill in Lahaina. We sat on the patio facing the street and the beach and had a nice view of the sunset. We watched the couple at the table next to us argue and the lady at another table complain that the tart she ordered for dessert wasn't a pie. There was a table 10 people close to us that had one guy who seemed to constantly be talking louder than anyone in the restaurant. And the table next to us was a quiet family with 2 kids (maybe 3 and 7) who were really well behaved. We tried the sashimi (paca paca) bruschetta as appetizers. Iggy had the steak oscar and I had pork 3 ways. We had the signature berry pie (not tart) for dessert. The food was really good and our waiter was nice - knowledge about the wine I wanted, knew the menu, and was all about the ambiance (when he saw me taking a picture of the sunset through the shades he ran back to the switches to open them).
It was a nice anniversary - a little adventure and some fine dining!
It took just under an hour to drive back to Kahalui where the airport is. Once there we had to weigh in (eek!) so they could balance the helicopter. We had to go through some safety items - similar to when on an airplane - but this time it felt a little more real. I'm not sure if that was because I had to wear a life vest in a pack around my waist for the whole trip or if I think helicopters are less stable or if I just actually haven't heard 100 times how to jettison helicopter doors in case of a water landing.
Our pilot was Shaylan. Iggy thought that he "just looked" like a helicopter pilot. Since I was sitting next to him he started by showing me the controls on the floor and making sure I knew not to bump them with my legs. He told us about what we were seeing as we flew over it and often told jokes that only he really understood. He would ask us questions and try to read our lips as we answered (he was the only person miked).
The views were spectacular - so many waterfalls and so much green in the landscapes and blues in the water. It was a little hazy since there seem to be clouds sitting on the tops of the mountains here a lot.
As we were driving back to our hotel, we got a little lost, but had the happy accident of stumbling across Wow Wee Maui - a local sushi and burger place. We stopped in for lunch and bought a Wow Wee Maui Potato Chip and Milk Chocolate candy bar (yum!).
* * *
After a little nap and looking through our photos and a little balcony time, we got ready to head over to dinner at David Paul's Island Grill in Lahaina. We sat on the patio facing the street and the beach and had a nice view of the sunset. We watched the couple at the table next to us argue and the lady at another table complain that the tart she ordered for dessert wasn't a pie. There was a table 10 people close to us that had one guy who seemed to constantly be talking louder than anyone in the restaurant. And the table next to us was a quiet family with 2 kids (maybe 3 and 7) who were really well behaved. We tried the sashimi (paca paca) bruschetta as appetizers. Iggy had the steak oscar and I had pork 3 ways. We had the signature berry pie (not tart) for dessert. The food was really good and our waiter was nice - knowledge about the wine I wanted, knew the menu, and was all about the ambiance (when he saw me taking a picture of the sunset through the shades he ran back to the switches to open them).
It was a nice anniversary - a little adventure and some fine dining!
Location:Maui, HI
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Maui - Days 2-4 - Relaxing
Saturday we walked over to Whaler's Village and shopped a bit. We had appetizers and happy hour at the Hula Grill where they had live music. The music seemed mostly Hawaiian and the lead singer encouraged us to all learn to the the "oo-ka-lay-lay." Or, if we had kids, to buy them a real souvenir (not the toy version from ABC Store).
We had dinner at Maui Fish and Pasta (including a yummy cilantro infused margarita) and got our feet in the ocean walking back to the hotel along the beach. Iggy bought me a lei but it smelled so strongly that I couldn't wear it while eating. It was very nice while walking back to the hotel though!
Sunday we went for a morning "swim" and then to the champagne brunch at out hotel. Even the woman who rented us our car recommended it. True to her promise, there were 3 walls of food and while we only had one glass of champagne each, that glass was refilled every time you took a sip making it a little difficult to track how much you were really drinking. There were hula dancers with the live music -- and we heard Iggy's favorite song again (Hawaiian Superman).
This was followed by a nap, a pedicure for me, then reading on the beach. In the evening we wandered back over to Whaler's Village so I could get an anniversary present now that I knew what he wanted and dinner at Leilanni's on the Beach. This was a very nice meal, but we had been wanting to the nachos we saw on the menu. Sadly Leilanni's has 2 restaurants and we were in the fancy one, not the bar one and the menus don't cross over.
Monday we went to the hotel orientation breakfast (Saturday at 8am was too early after or late arrival Friday night and they don't have it on Sundays due to the champagne brunch). The talk was pretty informative and the food was free. After that we booked our anniversary day activities and then drove over to Lahaina to look around. The Banyan tree was pretty cool.
And we had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise.
That night we tried appetizers and happy hour at the other Leilanni's, but sadly we were way too full for nachos. The happy hour margarita there had to be the worst one I've ever had - all mixer. We wandered around the shoreline for a bit checking out a craft fair at one of the hotels and then down to the black rock where we want to snorkel eventually. Then we decided on sunset on out balcony and pizza in the room and a movie (Mission Impossible 4).
I think we've got the relaxing part accomplished!
We had dinner at Maui Fish and Pasta (including a yummy cilantro infused margarita) and got our feet in the ocean walking back to the hotel along the beach. Iggy bought me a lei but it smelled so strongly that I couldn't wear it while eating. It was very nice while walking back to the hotel though!
Sunday we went for a morning "swim" and then to the champagne brunch at out hotel. Even the woman who rented us our car recommended it. True to her promise, there were 3 walls of food and while we only had one glass of champagne each, that glass was refilled every time you took a sip making it a little difficult to track how much you were really drinking. There were hula dancers with the live music -- and we heard Iggy's favorite song again (Hawaiian Superman).
This was followed by a nap, a pedicure for me, then reading on the beach. In the evening we wandered back over to Whaler's Village so I could get an anniversary present now that I knew what he wanted and dinner at Leilanni's on the Beach. This was a very nice meal, but we had been wanting to the nachos we saw on the menu. Sadly Leilanni's has 2 restaurants and we were in the fancy one, not the bar one and the menus don't cross over.
Monday we went to the hotel orientation breakfast (Saturday at 8am was too early after or late arrival Friday night and they don't have it on Sundays due to the champagne brunch). The talk was pretty informative and the food was free. After that we booked our anniversary day activities and then drove over to Lahaina to look around. The Banyan tree was pretty cool.
And we had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise.
That night we tried appetizers and happy hour at the other Leilanni's, but sadly we were way too full for nachos. The happy hour margarita there had to be the worst one I've ever had - all mixer. We wandered around the shoreline for a bit checking out a craft fair at one of the hotels and then down to the black rock where we want to snorkel eventually. Then we decided on sunset on out balcony and pizza in the room and a movie (Mission Impossible 4).
I think we've got the relaxing part accomplished!
Location:Maui
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Maui - Day 2 - Hopeful
It's 8am. Earlier than I planned on being up. Back home it is noon. I am not sure my body knows what time it is.
*
I am sitting on the balcony looking out at the hotel grounds, and between the palm trees I can see the ocean. I have been out her for 30 minutes, but it's taken me some time to find the batteries for my wireless keyboard and to look around to see if there's any wi-fi I can connect to (there isn't - I will have to power up the mobile hotspot from Iggy's phone later).
*
It's quiet in terms of activity but there are birds warbling and chirping and generally making a racket. After my alarm went off (I forgot to turn it off when we got here last night) we heard a siren go by and Iggy mumbles in his half-asleep state "Book'em Dano!"
*
There is an older (than me) couple sitting out on their deck too. He was eating a banana. When he was done, he leaned over and kissed his wife, then went in to get his cigar. She's been calmly smoking a cigarette and reading a novel.
*
The grounds crew is cleaning up under all the trees. Apparently those pretty trees with the yellow and white flowers dump a lot of leaves and twigs and stuff overnight. It always makes me feel a little sad to have to see people working in jobs I would detest. But then again they may not get 'ice pick' headaches and my job might seem super boring. I have to settle for being glad they're employed and hope they like their job.
*
When I first got out here an short chubby woman on the sidewalk below paused to stare at me. I don't know what she was looking at (I'm fully clothed) but later I feel slightly chagrined when I realize my nose strip is still on. I am slightly worried I am getting a cold since my sinuses have been draining most of yesterday and I couldn't breathe well last night. A couple of people at my work were worried about my stress level when I got those 'ice pick' headaches recently. I told them that if anything, I am *less* stressed now that we're done with the home buying, home selling, and moving. Plus I convinced my boss to take away one of my projects. But they pointed out that when you run on adrenaline you think you are fine and it's when you stop that your body has the chance to react. So now all I can think of is being on vacation, my work laptop safely at home, my body is going into full stop mode. It's probably going to hit me like a box of bricks! (hoping not)
*
Ooh - there's Iggy bringing me hotel room coffee. This will be a good day - I have a feeling about it!
*
I am sitting on the balcony looking out at the hotel grounds, and between the palm trees I can see the ocean. I have been out her for 30 minutes, but it's taken me some time to find the batteries for my wireless keyboard and to look around to see if there's any wi-fi I can connect to (there isn't - I will have to power up the mobile hotspot from Iggy's phone later).
*
It's quiet in terms of activity but there are birds warbling and chirping and generally making a racket. After my alarm went off (I forgot to turn it off when we got here last night) we heard a siren go by and Iggy mumbles in his half-asleep state "Book'em Dano!"
*
There is an older (than me) couple sitting out on their deck too. He was eating a banana. When he was done, he leaned over and kissed his wife, then went in to get his cigar. She's been calmly smoking a cigarette and reading a novel.
*
The grounds crew is cleaning up under all the trees. Apparently those pretty trees with the yellow and white flowers dump a lot of leaves and twigs and stuff overnight. It always makes me feel a little sad to have to see people working in jobs I would detest. But then again they may not get 'ice pick' headaches and my job might seem super boring. I have to settle for being glad they're employed and hope they like their job.
*
When I first got out here an short chubby woman on the sidewalk below paused to stare at me. I don't know what she was looking at (I'm fully clothed) but later I feel slightly chagrined when I realize my nose strip is still on. I am slightly worried I am getting a cold since my sinuses have been draining most of yesterday and I couldn't breathe well last night. A couple of people at my work were worried about my stress level when I got those 'ice pick' headaches recently. I told them that if anything, I am *less* stressed now that we're done with the home buying, home selling, and moving. Plus I convinced my boss to take away one of my projects. But they pointed out that when you run on adrenaline you think you are fine and it's when you stop that your body has the chance to react. So now all I can think of is being on vacation, my work laptop safely at home, my body is going into full stop mode. It's probably going to hit me like a box of bricks! (hoping not)
*
Ooh - there's Iggy bringing me hotel room coffee. This will be a good day - I have a feeling about it!
Maui - Day 1 - Getting There Is Half the Fun (right?)
Friday is my first day off, but I have to give my last midyear review and recieve mine. I get an email from my boss that he's worried we had our wires crossed since he got an out of office from me (I love that one of my PMs calls these OOTOs - it sounds funny when you say it phoenetically). But I simply can't fit in all my work activities in 4 days this week and our flight isn't until 3pm. My boss wants to talk to me because there are some things he wants to explain - but he has to move the meeting out due to a conflict. I tell him it's all ok - just not too late because at 1pm my laptop is powering down to start it's vacation.
...
Right as my (delayed) review is about to start I see the Intermountain Rural Electric van pull up outside. I am only half in nosey-neighbor mode today (my home office window faces the street and I see all the ladies on their midday walks, the kids skateboarding in formation, neighbors chatting over the fence, and I feel vaguely creepy watching all of it from afar). Then 2 minutes later our power goes out. I run downstairs in my PJs and see the electric guy coming from the side of our house. I incredulously say, "Did you just cut our power?" He responds that he did, that our bill is in arrears, asks my last name. I know he's only doing his job, but I have a hard time being civil - I need power to have internet to do my review and I have sheets in the wash and I gave myself time for leisurely packing and whatnot, but I didn't account for drama.
...
It turns out that Xcel doesn't provide electricity in this area. So when we transferred our Xcel account they only transferred the gas. But didn't bother to tell us about their lack of ability to transfer the electric. We haven't gotten a bill yet for just the new house, so we haven't seen this change. The dweeb who owned our house before has not canceled his account - and while I have probably seen bills to him for IRE, I simply write "please forward" and put them back in the mailbox. [BTW, I do get to call him a dweeb. He left no forwarding address, and he did annoying things like turn the water down to the bare minimum after he sold the place. This left us with brown spots in the front yard and a cordial but annoying letter from the HOA which arrived our first week there telling us to please fix it so we don't bring our neighbors' property values down.] So IRE hasn't mailed us a "welcome" packed because they think he's in arrears and we've never heard of IRE before meeting the poor man cutting our power this morning. 30 minutes on the phone (mostly on hold, but then with a helpful woman who gets this type of thing all the time - I cannot describe how much I don't want her job) and we're promised that the power will be back "sometime today." Which means my review is phone only and the washer is still stopped midcycle. But at least my house sitters won't have to figure this out - can you imagine if it happened while they were there?
...
So a lot of the stuff we're planning to do today doesn't work out that well. Not sure if Iggy got through paying the bills online or got his music downloaded. I know he didn't get a movie downloaded. But the power does come on in about 90 minutes (thank you IRE!) and I get all the bedding done in time to change all the beds and we get that last load of clothes through the dryer so Iggy can pack (I packed last week before I went to Bismarck because I was afraid I wouldn't have time when I got back Thursday night - something usually goes wrong with my return trip and I am not distrustful that it will work as I planned).
...
I am repacking my purse and trying to figure out what purse is big enough to hold my iPad but sorta beach-y. I end up not finding one so I start to reuse my purse from last week (which is cool in it's own way, but hello! I wanted to change so I could break from work and feel like I am on vacation!). Iggy comes in and says, "I can't fit your present in my bag -- do you want to open it now and see if you want to take it?" I open it and it's a Kate Spade bag in khaki and orange (I don't have an orange purse yet) and it looks really beach-y! Plus since I've wanted a Kate Spade purse for the last two years -- since I had to get glasses and somehow ended up with Kate Spade frames. He points out that it's made of cotton and 2 years is the cotton anniversary. I have a *swoon* moment - he notices me being bummed about my purse choice right now, he listens (he remembers my Kate Spade quest) and he knows what colors of purses I have (granted I did just use up half a shelf in the new walk-in closet arranging my purses) and he knows what motif is for a 2-year anniversary! Then I have a sad moment, because the thing I gave up today with our electricity debacle is gift shopping. I had dreams all last night about getting something and presenting it with a couple cotton balls and q-tips as some sort of bow. So now I am empty handed. But he looks quite please with himself and I promise to make it up to him later.
...
We finish about 30 minutes later than we planned on leaving, but I think we still have enough time to make the flight. The part we won't get to do is the Bon Voyage drink at the airport bar before we get on the plane. Small sacrifice. But as we're leaving the thunderclouds roll in. We start to worry about the dog (who hates thunder) and a little about delays at the airport. It turns out that I closed the closet door where Radar likes to hide and he has locked himself in the bathroom and chewed the doorknob in an attempt to get out. This is typical and he is otherwise unscathed when the dog sitter gets there about 90 minutes after we leave. (sigh - we really need to get that crate for him!) The other issue is that we do sit on the runway for 40 minutes. There was only about 35 minutes for our connection in LAX, so we end up missing that plane by about 10 minutes. They won't hold the plane even though 7 people on our flight need that connection because they pride themselves on on-time statistics, I guess. I think this is particularly rotten, but I am not one of the people who chooses an airline by their ontime stats -- I care more about safety stats and my miles, I guess. One family is trying to get to Maui for a wedding tomorrow (one is a bridesmaid!) and they are extremely high strung about it. At least all I am trying to do is lay on the beach or something - I can wait a day to start that.
...
The airline rebooked us on another airline and gives us a shuttle to get directly to the gate. Thoughtful. When we get to the counter we find out that they haven't rebooked us to first class (we splurged for the trip there wanting to have the long flight in comfort and celebrate). The new airline has 2 seats left and will let us pay to upgrage. So we do that and hope that the other company will be refunding our first class upgrade from the canceled flight.
...
First Class is an experience. I knew I'd like the free drinks. I don't particularly like being waited on like I am in a restaurant since I don't think you tip. For the 20 people in first class there are 2 attendants. Coach has 2 as well, but there are maybe 100 people back there. It all seems so pertensious and I vaguely feel out of place. Someday maybe I will feel entitled to this -- like the teenager across the aisle. I can't image growing up flying first class, but if you knew nothing else, it would seem normal, I suppose. I say thank you every time and try to be polite and not needy. The captain comes out and introduces himself, chats with every First Class passenger, asks about their trip. The couple behind us seems like a young, flighty gold digger and a late-30s guy who feels like he should be getting married soon. Or maybe he just wants an expensive booty call by taking his girl on a fancy vacation. They're loud and annoying but they say they approve of our drinks and say we might be their new party friends in Maui. I am mildly appeased, but I end up watching the in-flight movie so I don't have to hear their witty banter anymore. Later when I am sleeping leaning on Iggy she puts her feet in the space between our seats and I am vaugely grossed out by having her feet on my side. At least I enjoyed the meal, the drinks and the leg room was fantastic. The seat was pretty comfy too. I am mostly happy that we're making it to Maui tonight instead of being stranded in LA for a night.
...
Arriving in Maui is a bit of an ordeal. We don't have the plant declaration form that was supposedly on our seats when we boarded, so we pretend to be a part of the family in front of us until they are questioned about bringing an animal into the country. But this is useful as we just slip by while they're explaining themselves. There is the moment of tension at the luggage claim while we wonder if our bags made the airline transfer with us, but they both arrive. The rental car places appear to be closed, but we realize after a minute that the stores are just "fronts" and that you have to take a shuttle to the real rental car desk. There we are up-sold to a convertible Mustang at a "deal" since we are on an anniversary trip and since I want to be able to drive the car it's an extra $X/day. So we leave feeling a little frustrated that this trip is so expensive and so far all it has been is travel. It's 10pm by the time we're leaving the airport and dark. Iggy says, "Is this how you pictured Hawaii?" It's not, really, but the adventure is wearing on me by this point. At little ways out of town, driving along the coastline and looking at the city lights at the base of the mountains silhouetted against the sky. This is more what I pictured Hawaii looking like.
...
We arrive at the hotel and realize it's a charge to park your car every day, to use the safe in the room is a fee every day, etc. Parking is challenging because all the spaces are for compact cars and we have the behemoth Mustang. We finally find a spot on the top floor. Our room has two queen beds (we wanted 1 king)and to my tired eyes the place looks run down.
...
But, mercifully, the room is cool, the bed is soft and I am dead tired. I bet tomorrow the hotel looks better and I am not so grumpy about the cost of everything.
...
Right as my (delayed) review is about to start I see the Intermountain Rural Electric van pull up outside. I am only half in nosey-neighbor mode today (my home office window faces the street and I see all the ladies on their midday walks, the kids skateboarding in formation, neighbors chatting over the fence, and I feel vaguely creepy watching all of it from afar). Then 2 minutes later our power goes out. I run downstairs in my PJs and see the electric guy coming from the side of our house. I incredulously say, "Did you just cut our power?" He responds that he did, that our bill is in arrears, asks my last name. I know he's only doing his job, but I have a hard time being civil - I need power to have internet to do my review and I have sheets in the wash and I gave myself time for leisurely packing and whatnot, but I didn't account for drama.
...
It turns out that Xcel doesn't provide electricity in this area. So when we transferred our Xcel account they only transferred the gas. But didn't bother to tell us about their lack of ability to transfer the electric. We haven't gotten a bill yet for just the new house, so we haven't seen this change. The dweeb who owned our house before has not canceled his account - and while I have probably seen bills to him for IRE, I simply write "please forward" and put them back in the mailbox. [BTW, I do get to call him a dweeb. He left no forwarding address, and he did annoying things like turn the water down to the bare minimum after he sold the place. This left us with brown spots in the front yard and a cordial but annoying letter from the HOA which arrived our first week there telling us to please fix it so we don't bring our neighbors' property values down.] So IRE hasn't mailed us a "welcome" packed because they think he's in arrears and we've never heard of IRE before meeting the poor man cutting our power this morning. 30 minutes on the phone (mostly on hold, but then with a helpful woman who gets this type of thing all the time - I cannot describe how much I don't want her job) and we're promised that the power will be back "sometime today." Which means my review is phone only and the washer is still stopped midcycle. But at least my house sitters won't have to figure this out - can you imagine if it happened while they were there?
...
So a lot of the stuff we're planning to do today doesn't work out that well. Not sure if Iggy got through paying the bills online or got his music downloaded. I know he didn't get a movie downloaded. But the power does come on in about 90 minutes (thank you IRE!) and I get all the bedding done in time to change all the beds and we get that last load of clothes through the dryer so Iggy can pack (I packed last week before I went to Bismarck because I was afraid I wouldn't have time when I got back Thursday night - something usually goes wrong with my return trip and I am not distrustful that it will work as I planned).
...
I am repacking my purse and trying to figure out what purse is big enough to hold my iPad but sorta beach-y. I end up not finding one so I start to reuse my purse from last week (which is cool in it's own way, but hello! I wanted to change so I could break from work and feel like I am on vacation!). Iggy comes in and says, "I can't fit your present in my bag -- do you want to open it now and see if you want to take it?" I open it and it's a Kate Spade bag in khaki and orange (I don't have an orange purse yet) and it looks really beach-y! Plus since I've wanted a Kate Spade purse for the last two years -- since I had to get glasses and somehow ended up with Kate Spade frames. He points out that it's made of cotton and 2 years is the cotton anniversary. I have a *swoon* moment - he notices me being bummed about my purse choice right now, he listens (he remembers my Kate Spade quest) and he knows what colors of purses I have (granted I did just use up half a shelf in the new walk-in closet arranging my purses) and he knows what motif is for a 2-year anniversary! Then I have a sad moment, because the thing I gave up today with our electricity debacle is gift shopping. I had dreams all last night about getting something and presenting it with a couple cotton balls and q-tips as some sort of bow. So now I am empty handed. But he looks quite please with himself and I promise to make it up to him later.
...
We finish about 30 minutes later than we planned on leaving, but I think we still have enough time to make the flight. The part we won't get to do is the Bon Voyage drink at the airport bar before we get on the plane. Small sacrifice. But as we're leaving the thunderclouds roll in. We start to worry about the dog (who hates thunder) and a little about delays at the airport. It turns out that I closed the closet door where Radar likes to hide and he has locked himself in the bathroom and chewed the doorknob in an attempt to get out. This is typical and he is otherwise unscathed when the dog sitter gets there about 90 minutes after we leave. (sigh - we really need to get that crate for him!) The other issue is that we do sit on the runway for 40 minutes. There was only about 35 minutes for our connection in LAX, so we end up missing that plane by about 10 minutes. They won't hold the plane even though 7 people on our flight need that connection because they pride themselves on on-time statistics, I guess. I think this is particularly rotten, but I am not one of the people who chooses an airline by their ontime stats -- I care more about safety stats and my miles, I guess. One family is trying to get to Maui for a wedding tomorrow (one is a bridesmaid!) and they are extremely high strung about it. At least all I am trying to do is lay on the beach or something - I can wait a day to start that.
...
The airline rebooked us on another airline and gives us a shuttle to get directly to the gate. Thoughtful. When we get to the counter we find out that they haven't rebooked us to first class (we splurged for the trip there wanting to have the long flight in comfort and celebrate). The new airline has 2 seats left and will let us pay to upgrage. So we do that and hope that the other company will be refunding our first class upgrade from the canceled flight.
...
First Class is an experience. I knew I'd like the free drinks. I don't particularly like being waited on like I am in a restaurant since I don't think you tip. For the 20 people in first class there are 2 attendants. Coach has 2 as well, but there are maybe 100 people back there. It all seems so pertensious and I vaguely feel out of place. Someday maybe I will feel entitled to this -- like the teenager across the aisle. I can't image growing up flying first class, but if you knew nothing else, it would seem normal, I suppose. I say thank you every time and try to be polite and not needy. The captain comes out and introduces himself, chats with every First Class passenger, asks about their trip. The couple behind us seems like a young, flighty gold digger and a late-30s guy who feels like he should be getting married soon. Or maybe he just wants an expensive booty call by taking his girl on a fancy vacation. They're loud and annoying but they say they approve of our drinks and say we might be their new party friends in Maui. I am mildly appeased, but I end up watching the in-flight movie so I don't have to hear their witty banter anymore. Later when I am sleeping leaning on Iggy she puts her feet in the space between our seats and I am vaugely grossed out by having her feet on my side. At least I enjoyed the meal, the drinks and the leg room was fantastic. The seat was pretty comfy too. I am mostly happy that we're making it to Maui tonight instead of being stranded in LA for a night.
...
Arriving in Maui is a bit of an ordeal. We don't have the plant declaration form that was supposedly on our seats when we boarded, so we pretend to be a part of the family in front of us until they are questioned about bringing an animal into the country. But this is useful as we just slip by while they're explaining themselves. There is the moment of tension at the luggage claim while we wonder if our bags made the airline transfer with us, but they both arrive. The rental car places appear to be closed, but we realize after a minute that the stores are just "fronts" and that you have to take a shuttle to the real rental car desk. There we are up-sold to a convertible Mustang at a "deal" since we are on an anniversary trip and since I want to be able to drive the car it's an extra $X/day. So we leave feeling a little frustrated that this trip is so expensive and so far all it has been is travel. It's 10pm by the time we're leaving the airport and dark. Iggy says, "Is this how you pictured Hawaii?" It's not, really, but the adventure is wearing on me by this point. At little ways out of town, driving along the coastline and looking at the city lights at the base of the mountains silhouetted against the sky. This is more what I pictured Hawaii looking like.
...
We arrive at the hotel and realize it's a charge to park your car every day, to use the safe in the room is a fee every day, etc. Parking is challenging because all the spaces are for compact cars and we have the behemoth Mustang. We finally find a spot on the top floor. Our room has two queen beds (we wanted 1 king)and to my tired eyes the place looks run down.
...
But, mercifully, the room is cool, the bed is soft and I am dead tired. I bet tomorrow the hotel looks better and I am not so grumpy about the cost of everything.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Thanks, Good Neighbor
[doorbell]
I'm in the middle of a call with a large number of people from work and am one of two people representing my team, but know that the guys working on the house painting or our realtor might be coming by today. I guess I can take the 2 minutes it would take to answer the door without anyone knowing.
A timid man half hiding behind the side of the garage asked if I was the home owner (no) or the "lady of the house." I am unsure what that means so I said, "I live here."
At that he launched full speed into a monologue about the dead tree in my back yard and that he had to give me citation because the lady down the street called in to complain about all the dead trees in the neighborhood (at least 3 others) how we needed to remove it, not necessarily all of it, we could leave a stump...
I couldn't get a word in edgewise (apparently once he starts his explanation it's all or nothing).
Just then the call I was listening to with my other ear (I had my cell phone headset on) said something I thought I had to pay attention to so I moved my phone up and started to unmute when my counterpart spoke up.
The poor little man said, "Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were on the phone."
"It's ok. I understand about the tree. We had it cut back last year when it had leaves on it, and were hoping it would come back at least a little this year."
I'm not mad at that guy that came by...but my neighbor is another question. In my opinion, if she's enough of a busybody to complain, she is probably enough of a busybody to know that we're working on the house. Surely she noticed the guys patching the stucco and painting this week. Or Iggy cutting down the dead branches on the bush in the front yard. (The little man noticed our bundles of branches and the painting supplies on the front porch.) Or the guys that were here last month ripping off the old deck roof or the guys from the next week putting a new roof over the deck. Or the fact that the tree is smaller than it was last summer.
It bugs me that this thing is anonymous. I wish our neighbor would've felt like they could come talk to us. So they'd know it was on our list - but for later. As it is I get a whole 35 days to get quotes, choose a contractor, actually get the contractor out here to do the work (which, in my experience is the hardest part between their schedules and the weather) and complete the work.
Should I wonder good citizen also complains about my neighbors dogs that bark nonstop if I'm gardening or sitting on my deck? Or if she also complains about the family 2 doors down that shoots fireworks for most of June and July. She is probably married to the guy that sweeps the street in his shorts and tank top. I hope you get some perverse thrill out of making me spend $2k this month that I had earmarked for a washer/dryer/frig at the new place because that guy wanted to sell them all on Craigslist.
I'm in the middle of a call with a large number of people from work and am one of two people representing my team, but know that the guys working on the house painting or our realtor might be coming by today. I guess I can take the 2 minutes it would take to answer the door without anyone knowing.
A timid man half hiding behind the side of the garage asked if I was the home owner (no) or the "lady of the house." I am unsure what that means so I said, "I live here."
At that he launched full speed into a monologue about the dead tree in my back yard and that he had to give me citation because the lady down the street called in to complain about all the dead trees in the neighborhood (at least 3 others) how we needed to remove it, not necessarily all of it, we could leave a stump...
I couldn't get a word in edgewise (apparently once he starts his explanation it's all or nothing).
Just then the call I was listening to with my other ear (I had my cell phone headset on) said something I thought I had to pay attention to so I moved my phone up and started to unmute when my counterpart spoke up.
The poor little man said, "Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were on the phone."
"It's ok. I understand about the tree. We had it cut back last year when it had leaves on it, and were hoping it would come back at least a little this year."
I'm not mad at that guy that came by...but my neighbor is another question. In my opinion, if she's enough of a busybody to complain, she is probably enough of a busybody to know that we're working on the house. Surely she noticed the guys patching the stucco and painting this week. Or Iggy cutting down the dead branches on the bush in the front yard. (The little man noticed our bundles of branches and the painting supplies on the front porch.) Or the guys that were here last month ripping off the old deck roof or the guys from the next week putting a new roof over the deck. Or the fact that the tree is smaller than it was last summer.
It bugs me that this thing is anonymous. I wish our neighbor would've felt like they could come talk to us. So they'd know it was on our list - but for later. As it is I get a whole 35 days to get quotes, choose a contractor, actually get the contractor out here to do the work (which, in my experience is the hardest part between their schedules and the weather) and complete the work.
Should I wonder good citizen also complains about my neighbors dogs that bark nonstop if I'm gardening or sitting on my deck? Or if she also complains about the family 2 doors down that shoots fireworks for most of June and July. She is probably married to the guy that sweeps the street in his shorts and tank top. I hope you get some perverse thrill out of making me spend $2k this month that I had earmarked for a washer/dryer/frig at the new place because that guy wanted to sell them all on Craigslist.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
House Hunting is Like Internet Dating
One of my more famous "blurts" at work was when I told a client that "my job is like internet dating."
Awkward silence.
I realized what I'd said and explained: I work from home. I never meet any of the people I work with -- either clients or co-workers. When I do we usually exchange head-shot photos, a description on what we'll be wearing or at least arrange to meet at a public place like the Starbucks in Terminal A. We're nervous and vaguely excited to see what the real person is like after emailing or talking for a few months. (Of course there are a few key difference between dating and work relationships: the end game, in particular.)
Today I am thinking that house-hunting on Zillow is like internet dating. Consider the facts:
- I am searching Zillow for a particular price range (internet dating: age range)
- I am looking at pictures of the house (internet dating: pictures of the person) meant to show the best possible lighting, angles, magazine-gloss available given the subject
- There is a blurb telling me all the positive facets of the house/person and subtly leaving out the negative features
- When I get to actually see the house (internet dating: meet the person) it's not quite the image I had build up in my mind based on our brief, written relationship. Sometimes this is good, other times not so much.
- 90% of the time, even though I see the possibilities (I was doing some screening, after all), it sounds like too much work and really what I'm looking for (thank goodness I am not in the dating game anymore).
The other thing that struck me about the job search was how good/natural our real estate agent was at checking up on the relationship. After each house hunting session he asks, "How are you feeling? What are you thinking? What did you like/not like?" And then he adds some positive reinforcement like "we'll just keep looking, the right one is out there. We've got plenty of time."
Our most recent house-hunting expedition produced some enticing opportunities. One where we were really interested and basically there was no way to get it down to our price range (or get our downpayment high enough to approach the bank for a loan). REJECTION! (You're still following the dating theme, right?) Another one was really cool, but the guest bathroom on the main level had floor-to-ceiling mirrors on all 4 walls. This would be uncomfortable (I think) for my guests -- at least it would offer me way more information that I truly needed while taking care of business. Other than that the house looked great for entertaining. (Or maybe it depends on the type of entertaining you're doing. I recently read an article in Redbook on swingers clubs which pushed a few of my boundaries...but that's a different post, I am sure.)
At any rate, we're still out there kissing frogs (looking at houses) with the help of our fairy godmother (don't tell the real estate guy that I called him that, please, I am not sure he'd appreciate it).
Signed,
The Princess
PS - Contemplating a biography with a working title "Life is Like Internet Dating..."
Awkward silence.
I realized what I'd said and explained: I work from home. I never meet any of the people I work with -- either clients or co-workers. When I do we usually exchange head-shot photos, a description on what we'll be wearing or at least arrange to meet at a public place like the Starbucks in Terminal A. We're nervous and vaguely excited to see what the real person is like after emailing or talking for a few months. (Of course there are a few key difference between dating and work relationships: the end game, in particular.)
Today I am thinking that house-hunting on Zillow is like internet dating. Consider the facts:
- I am searching Zillow for a particular price range (internet dating: age range)
- I am looking at pictures of the house (internet dating: pictures of the person) meant to show the best possible lighting, angles, magazine-gloss available given the subject
- There is a blurb telling me all the positive facets of the house/person and subtly leaving out the negative features
- When I get to actually see the house (internet dating: meet the person) it's not quite the image I had build up in my mind based on our brief, written relationship. Sometimes this is good, other times not so much.
- 90% of the time, even though I see the possibilities (I was doing some screening, after all), it sounds like too much work and really what I'm looking for (thank goodness I am not in the dating game anymore).
The other thing that struck me about the job search was how good/natural our real estate agent was at checking up on the relationship. After each house hunting session he asks, "How are you feeling? What are you thinking? What did you like/not like?" And then he adds some positive reinforcement like "we'll just keep looking, the right one is out there. We've got plenty of time."
Our most recent house-hunting expedition produced some enticing opportunities. One where we were really interested and basically there was no way to get it down to our price range (or get our downpayment high enough to approach the bank for a loan). REJECTION! (You're still following the dating theme, right?) Another one was really cool, but the guest bathroom on the main level had floor-to-ceiling mirrors on all 4 walls. This would be uncomfortable (I think) for my guests -- at least it would offer me way more information that I truly needed while taking care of business. Other than that the house looked great for entertaining. (Or maybe it depends on the type of entertaining you're doing. I recently read an article in Redbook on swingers clubs which pushed a few of my boundaries...but that's a different post, I am sure.)
At any rate, we're still out there kissing frogs (looking at houses) with the help of our fairy godmother (don't tell the real estate guy that I called him that, please, I am not sure he'd appreciate it).
Signed,
The Princess
PS - Contemplating a biography with a working title "Life is Like Internet Dating..."
Sunday, February 26, 2012
House Hunting for The Princess
So you'd think that The Princess (me) would like a big mansion with all the upgrades and tons of space.
Frankly, I am scared of big open spaces in the house. What the heck do you do with them? Cartwheel across your living room until you reach the kitchen? I was never that great a gymnastics... I envision the Bruce Wayne manor, with that long table where Bruce (Keaton) is at one end and Vicki Vale (Basinger) is at the other end and there are like 30 chairs between them, and rooms you never go in. Decadent, but vaguely creepy. Once you do have to go in one of those forgotten rooms for something it (either the room or the item, or both) would probably be infested with spiders.
Yesterday we looked at a few more houses. We focused on the east/central side of town.
One house we saw was a undervalued because it was a repossession where the people leaving had taken all the appliances, all the cabinet knobs, and it had no less than 5 paint colors on walls visible from the front entryway. It would be a nice one to fix up. It was 3 blocks from "casual fast" food like Chipotle, a coffee shop and a grocery store. So it had the walking distance thing going for it. The down side (for me) was that the space would all be used up once we were moved in - with only 3 bedrooms we'd have a master bedroom and each of us would get an office (except the dog, but I asked and he was ok with that). There was a small basement and we could finish it, but I think a bedroom would leave the rest of it feeling small. My office would be kick-ass, though, because the rooms were so big.
We looked at another one really close to our coveted Cherry Creek area. Not really walking distance to anything, and it didn't have a real space for 2 offices and had no garage (I hate scraping my windows in the morning -- and I don't even drive to work. See? I am The Princess).
The strangest house we saw had not one, but TWO, workshop areas. There would be a lot of pressure to start learning woodworking, something involving a blow torch and a welding mask, or at least a fancy historical car needing refinishing. But there were lots of places to hang those pictures of curvy chix on motorcycles on the wall. It also had a Mother-in-Law apartment next to one of the workshops. That had a bathtub with a 2-foot ceiling - which would be perfect for washing the dog if your MIL would let you in her apartment.
We saw another one that was move-in ready -- only needed window coverings. That one had a few remodels done to help update it, was open (which seems to be a side effect of tri-levels), had nice neutral tan paint, hardwood floors, updated kitchen, more closets than we currently have. But a dinky master bath with the sinks in the same room as the bed (no real divider). Priced appropriately. In the middle of random suburbia. But minutes from I-25...
So you'd think with as picky as I am, I should get a house in the "being-built" stage so that I could choose the floor plan and the fixtures. EEEEK! That is way too intimidating too. It's way easier to see what didn't work on something that is already done... I would probably pick out Cowboy paint colors, Southwest tile, Ultra-Modern cabinets and antique Asian cabinet handles all for the kitchen. And I would love each item individually so much that I would believe it would "just work" once it was all together so I wouldn't listen to the advice of the expert. Then I would walk into the finished kitchen and exclaim, "What mess of historical eras and cultures threw up to create this kitchen?!?!"
On the up side, I am probably perfect material for one of those DIY-Network shows where they try to help you find the perfect house. And everyone would have great sympathy for my poor Iggy.
Frankly, I am scared of big open spaces in the house. What the heck do you do with them? Cartwheel across your living room until you reach the kitchen? I was never that great a gymnastics... I envision the Bruce Wayne manor, with that long table where Bruce (Keaton) is at one end and Vicki Vale (Basinger) is at the other end and there are like 30 chairs between them, and rooms you never go in. Decadent, but vaguely creepy. Once you do have to go in one of those forgotten rooms for something it (either the room or the item, or both) would probably be infested with spiders.
Yesterday we looked at a few more houses. We focused on the east/central side of town.
One house we saw was a undervalued because it was a repossession where the people leaving had taken all the appliances, all the cabinet knobs, and it had no less than 5 paint colors on walls visible from the front entryway. It would be a nice one to fix up. It was 3 blocks from "casual fast" food like Chipotle, a coffee shop and a grocery store. So it had the walking distance thing going for it. The down side (for me) was that the space would all be used up once we were moved in - with only 3 bedrooms we'd have a master bedroom and each of us would get an office (except the dog, but I asked and he was ok with that). There was a small basement and we could finish it, but I think a bedroom would leave the rest of it feeling small. My office would be kick-ass, though, because the rooms were so big.
We looked at another one really close to our coveted Cherry Creek area. Not really walking distance to anything, and it didn't have a real space for 2 offices and had no garage (I hate scraping my windows in the morning -- and I don't even drive to work. See? I am The Princess).
The strangest house we saw had not one, but TWO, workshop areas. There would be a lot of pressure to start learning woodworking, something involving a blow torch and a welding mask, or at least a fancy historical car needing refinishing. But there were lots of places to hang those pictures of curvy chix on motorcycles on the wall. It also had a Mother-in-Law apartment next to one of the workshops. That had a bathtub with a 2-foot ceiling - which would be perfect for washing the dog if your MIL would let you in her apartment.
We saw another one that was move-in ready -- only needed window coverings. That one had a few remodels done to help update it, was open (which seems to be a side effect of tri-levels), had nice neutral tan paint, hardwood floors, updated kitchen, more closets than we currently have. But a dinky master bath with the sinks in the same room as the bed (no real divider). Priced appropriately. In the middle of random suburbia. But minutes from I-25...
So you'd think with as picky as I am, I should get a house in the "being-built" stage so that I could choose the floor plan and the fixtures. EEEEK! That is way too intimidating too. It's way easier to see what didn't work on something that is already done... I would probably pick out Cowboy paint colors, Southwest tile, Ultra-Modern cabinets and antique Asian cabinet handles all for the kitchen. And I would love each item individually so much that I would believe it would "just work" once it was all together so I wouldn't listen to the advice of the expert. Then I would walk into the finished kitchen and exclaim, "What mess of historical eras and cultures threw up to create this kitchen?!?!"
On the up side, I am probably perfect material for one of those DIY-Network shows where they try to help you find the perfect house. And everyone would have great sympathy for my poor Iggy.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
American Dream
We started looking for a new place last weekend.
Ever since I decided to sell my condo and live in sin by moving in with Iggy, I have wanted to sell his place. Maybe not the nicest start to things (hey, I love you, but we have to sell this dump and move). But it was a little bit of the traditional American love story, the American Dream (if you will) to buy a house *together*...
I was sorta reticent to broach the subject, so I've been slowly fixing up the current place. Sorta to make it part "mine" and part in preparation for showing it. I worry sometimes that we might make it too nice and we'll never get to get a new place together.
Somehow the new house bug hit Iggy hard about 2 weeks ago. He started searching Zillow.com and showing me houses on his iPAD during the evenings. Last weekend he came up with a plan to drive buy 6 or 8 of them and canvas the neighborhoods so we could get a feel for how much our money would get us. It was fun, but strangely exhausting. We covered several distinct areas of Denver and the suburbs (Capitol Hill, Cherry Creek, Lowry, Upper Lo-Do, and a couple I don't know the names of). I had to take a nap when we got home.
This weekend Iggy's real estate buddy drove us around to look at the insides of a few of the homes. Surprisingly some of the houses we looked at last weekend had already sold! I thought this was a tough seller's market. But maybe the economy is picking up after all...
At any rate, the inside of the first one (Lowry) was lovely, peaceful, contemporary...and maybe a little too "suburbia" for me. It felt a lot like every other house on the block This isn't bad. It's just part of the atmosphere.
The second house had strange levels (1 step up into the dining room, 1 step down into the kitchen, 1 step up into the family room, etc) and tile on the entire main level. It backed up to an apartment complex where people seemed to be working on their cars and milling about in the parking lot. And it smelled funny to me. We didn't even look at the upstairs or the basement.
The third house was built in 1899 and within blocks of downtown - walking distance to a couple restaurants we've tried and liked, a cool indie grocery/market/butcher shop, Daz Bog, etc. I could already feel my shift to hipster-wannabe starting. It wasn't much more room than we have now and the yard was mostly deck with a token amount of lawn/grass. The master bedroom had a lofted reading nook accessible only via a ladder. Can't decide if that's cool or I'd only use it under duress. It had an older kitchen, but some updates around the house. The current owners were clearly fans of IKEA based on the furnishings and the $3500 gift card offered at closing. The garage would take a 12-point turn for me to get my Subaru Outback station wagon into. (Definitely getting a smaller, hipper car if we move to this one.) The biggest worry was the staircase to the upstairs. Not sure Radar could make it...it's open and twisty (and cool) and wooden (read: slick for dogs whose back legs aren't so good anymore). Guess I'm not ready to be a hipster quite yet. (sigh)
The 4th house was just north of City Park and close to the city golf course. This means it's close to the zoo and the history museum. I pictured myself with a museum membership and walking over on afternoons to browse thorough the latest Paleontology or Egyptology exhibit. Very chic. Very intellectual. (And even healthy since I'm walking.) But it wasn't within walking distance of the museum. And the neighborhood felt like a ghost town, sterile, and vaguely creepy for being so well-kept and respectable on the outside but having no people present or outside on a Saturday afternoon. It was a pop-top but the added 2nd floor was done in the cheapest, most artificial way (loved the bathroom, but the vent looked like someone punched a hole in the wall and covered it with a grate to camouflage it). There was a strange closet in the kitchen where the microwave was housed. Like a mini-pantry, I guess. The downstairs ceiling was low enough that our 6'3" realtor's head touched the top at points. So much for my snooty intellectual dream.
The last house was in Cherry Creek. It turns out it was within walking distance of 3 coffee shops, a deli, and within 7 blocks you start hitting restaurants regularly listed in 5280 magazine. 7 blocks to the Cherry Creek Mall (and movie theater). The house was maybe 5% bigger than our current one (I was hoping for more space and better closets). But! It had several kick-ass features: a fire pit outside on the patio, a walk-in wine cellar, a wet bar downstairs, an awesome kitchen with high-end appliances and a breakfast bar. The master bedroom had dinky closets but a bathroom almost the size of the bedroom itself. It might be hard to fit our furniture and clothes into this space -- granted I do need to get rid of some of my old stuff, so maybe it's not a terrible challenge. The biggest downside was that it back up to a major street (the front is on another street, but the back is on a street that has traffice 24/7). Can we live with the noise to be within blocks of Cherry Creek, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, etc?
Who knew the American Dream was so picky? Or maybe that's just me...
Ever since I decided to sell my condo and live in sin by moving in with Iggy, I have wanted to sell his place. Maybe not the nicest start to things (hey, I love you, but we have to sell this dump and move). But it was a little bit of the traditional American love story, the American Dream (if you will) to buy a house *together*...
I was sorta reticent to broach the subject, so I've been slowly fixing up the current place. Sorta to make it part "mine" and part in preparation for showing it. I worry sometimes that we might make it too nice and we'll never get to get a new place together.
Somehow the new house bug hit Iggy hard about 2 weeks ago. He started searching Zillow.com and showing me houses on his iPAD during the evenings. Last weekend he came up with a plan to drive buy 6 or 8 of them and canvas the neighborhoods so we could get a feel for how much our money would get us. It was fun, but strangely exhausting. We covered several distinct areas of Denver and the suburbs (Capitol Hill, Cherry Creek, Lowry, Upper Lo-Do, and a couple I don't know the names of). I had to take a nap when we got home.
This weekend Iggy's real estate buddy drove us around to look at the insides of a few of the homes. Surprisingly some of the houses we looked at last weekend had already sold! I thought this was a tough seller's market. But maybe the economy is picking up after all...
At any rate, the inside of the first one (Lowry) was lovely, peaceful, contemporary...and maybe a little too "suburbia" for me. It felt a lot like every other house on the block This isn't bad. It's just part of the atmosphere.
The second house had strange levels (1 step up into the dining room, 1 step down into the kitchen, 1 step up into the family room, etc) and tile on the entire main level. It backed up to an apartment complex where people seemed to be working on their cars and milling about in the parking lot. And it smelled funny to me. We didn't even look at the upstairs or the basement.
The third house was built in 1899 and within blocks of downtown - walking distance to a couple restaurants we've tried and liked, a cool indie grocery/market/butcher shop, Daz Bog, etc. I could already feel my shift to hipster-wannabe starting. It wasn't much more room than we have now and the yard was mostly deck with a token amount of lawn/grass. The master bedroom had a lofted reading nook accessible only via a ladder. Can't decide if that's cool or I'd only use it under duress. It had an older kitchen, but some updates around the house. The current owners were clearly fans of IKEA based on the furnishings and the $3500 gift card offered at closing. The garage would take a 12-point turn for me to get my Subaru Outback station wagon into. (Definitely getting a smaller, hipper car if we move to this one.) The biggest worry was the staircase to the upstairs. Not sure Radar could make it...it's open and twisty (and cool) and wooden (read: slick for dogs whose back legs aren't so good anymore). Guess I'm not ready to be a hipster quite yet. (sigh)
The 4th house was just north of City Park and close to the city golf course. This means it's close to the zoo and the history museum. I pictured myself with a museum membership and walking over on afternoons to browse thorough the latest Paleontology or Egyptology exhibit. Very chic. Very intellectual. (And even healthy since I'm walking.) But it wasn't within walking distance of the museum. And the neighborhood felt like a ghost town, sterile, and vaguely creepy for being so well-kept and respectable on the outside but having no people present or outside on a Saturday afternoon. It was a pop-top but the added 2nd floor was done in the cheapest, most artificial way (loved the bathroom, but the vent looked like someone punched a hole in the wall and covered it with a grate to camouflage it). There was a strange closet in the kitchen where the microwave was housed. Like a mini-pantry, I guess. The downstairs ceiling was low enough that our 6'3" realtor's head touched the top at points. So much for my snooty intellectual dream.
The last house was in Cherry Creek. It turns out it was within walking distance of 3 coffee shops, a deli, and within 7 blocks you start hitting restaurants regularly listed in 5280 magazine. 7 blocks to the Cherry Creek Mall (and movie theater). The house was maybe 5% bigger than our current one (I was hoping for more space and better closets). But! It had several kick-ass features: a fire pit outside on the patio, a walk-in wine cellar, a wet bar downstairs, an awesome kitchen with high-end appliances and a breakfast bar. The master bedroom had dinky closets but a bathroom almost the size of the bedroom itself. It might be hard to fit our furniture and clothes into this space -- granted I do need to get rid of some of my old stuff, so maybe it's not a terrible challenge. The biggest downside was that it back up to a major street (the front is on another street, but the back is on a street that has traffice 24/7). Can we live with the noise to be within blocks of Cherry Creek, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, etc?
Who knew the American Dream was so picky? Or maybe that's just me...
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Master Plan, Phase 2: On Hold
Somehow, I am not quite sure how, I arrived at the plan to adopt an older dog *AND* a puppy in 2012. Luckily Iggy seems agreeable to it all. He's never had 2 dogs at the same time. I've only had 2 dogs at the same time for a couple of years (prior to moving out of that house/relationship). So it is a little outside our comfort zone.
and the possibility of owning an intriguging Sharpei/Mastiff mix.
I am assuming that there will always be cute puppies to adopt, right?
I know I mentioned before that I had always wanted to adopt older dogs because I worry they won't get a second chance. But I don't view that as excluding me from adopting a puppy too.
But first to see if Phase 1 of the plan was going ok. We took Radar to the vet yesterday. I was worried about: 1: his weight (too skinny) 2: his back leg (hip displaysia? arthritis? too late to do anything?) 3: his hearing (either his name really isn't Radar, or he has "selective hearing" or he's deaf)
The vet was a funny little man. Very bookish. Prone to acting out his diagnosis (the loping imitation of hip displaysia was sorta funny). And he drew out a couple of diagrams about hip displaysia versus arthritis on a paper towel for me to take home. He told me that "adopting older dogs is like a mystery -- you see lots of clues but really have to guess at what the history is since you can't just ask them."
At that point we were talking about his hips and walking ability. Radar seemed not to care if the vet moved his back legs all around (the adoption vet said she was unable to extend his back right leg). The vet was speculating about whether the issue was genetic (hip displaysia) or arthritis (the vet thought perhaps Radar was hit by a car at some point -- does this really happen and the dog lives?). Radar's back legs both show muscle atrophy and especially on the right side. In fact, his right side is noticeably smaller than the left.
And his waist is too small. The vet seemed disappointed that Radar didn't have diarrhea. If he did (I guess) this might allow for the weight loss (5 pounds since he was originally dumped at the shelter). Without that as a reason, he was worried that there might be some cancer, specifically in the lungs which "sounded funny". The vet listened with 2 different stethoscopes, so he probably knows what he's talking about. But it could also be that when dogs are super skinny (like Radar) the heart rubs against the lungs and causes the grating sound he was hearing.
So first order of business is to fatten Radar up. Which is a good goal. It seems harder for me to lose weight myself or get my pet to lose weight. But I seem good at gaining weight (seeing all-new numbers on the scale these days -- eek!). The vet gave us a web site to use to figure out what to feed the dog to increase his weight gradually. (The annoying thing about that is that the web site is in kcals and the dog food bags seems to list in grams...I need to figure out some conversion somewhere. Of course even fattening up the dog the right way can't be easy.)
In a month or so, we will go back to the vet and weigh Radar. Then, if he's gained weight we'll see if we can get the vet to listen to his lung again. Then we'll decide if we need just x-rays on the hips or the hips and the lungs. I am trying to decide if knowing what the hip issue is will help us figure out how to treat it.
The vet also said it looked to him like Radar had some minor hearing loss. Radar's ears twitched to the vet's clanging of metal lids behind him, but he was really mostly interested in the treat I was holding. Inconclusive at best. It seems like as time goes on his hearing gets better. I think some of it is that he's learning what the relevant sounds are (the garage door means Iggy is home, the doorbell means someone new is about to come in, etc). And I think a lot of is that his name wasn't Radar...and now that he's learned to respond to that name we're stuck with it. (There was also a Hawkeye and a Trapper at the shelter...)
He probably does have selective hearing too. We all do, right? Choose to hear what we want to hear... ;-)
At any rate, today we decided to delay phase 2 of our master plan. On about an hourly basis I oscillated back and forth: get a puppy now because Radar seems to love other dogs and desperately wants to play on our walks? Or give Radar time to settle in and convince him that we're his family (he is so friendly that he'd go home with anyone!)?
The "give Radar some time" side won out. So we missed out on the super-grumpy-but-totally-cute Frank
and the possibility of owning an intriguging Sharpei/Mastiff mix.
I am assuming that there will always be cute puppies to adopt, right?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
New Year, New Dog
We lost our dog last summer. It took a while to want to get a new one, but sometime time fall we decided to get one after we got home from our Christmas/New Year's trip.
We both knew we wanted to adopt from a rescue, the pound, the Dumb Friends League, etc. I think my husband wanted a puppy because you have the greatest chance to mold their personalities and the least chance of getting unusual issues. I have always wanted to adopt an older dog. I worry that they won't get the second chance. If I am truthful I want to adopt all dogs. I have a hard time choosing. In fact that was why in college I ended up with a grey and a black cat -- how do you choose just one?
The dog I had picked out from the web was an 11-yeat-old bulldog with "special needs." We saw her and she was really cute, but some of her special needs led to the conclusion that she would be best in a one-dog household. We haven't entirely ruled out getting a puppy. My second choice was another 11 year old, a beagle. She was cute and lovable to the handler we saw. However on our visit with her she wanted nothing more than to be on the other side of the door. The counselor said she was "independent" but to me it seemed we stressed her out. She would probably get over that eventually... The next dog we saw we took home. An 8-year-old yellow lab. He has a decided limp which I guess could be the precursor to arthritis or hip displasia. The vet there checked it out and said it was currently ok but to see if our vet wanted us to start him on something for joint pain...
We're in our settling in phase. I tried a walk with the dog...he tugs a bit, wants to greet every dog, every person we meet, and would like to hop in any car for a ride. So we don't have to worry about him being friendly. But he might try to go home with anyone with treats or a car! He had his first accident. We've had two or three dozen trips outside as we're trying to learn the signals for that. The only time I've heard him bark so far is on walks -- when he thinks other dogs should come over and play. He slept through the night the first night.
We both knew we wanted to adopt from a rescue, the pound, the Dumb Friends League, etc. I think my husband wanted a puppy because you have the greatest chance to mold their personalities and the least chance of getting unusual issues. I have always wanted to adopt an older dog. I worry that they won't get the second chance. If I am truthful I want to adopt all dogs. I have a hard time choosing. In fact that was why in college I ended up with a grey and a black cat -- how do you choose just one?
The dog I had picked out from the web was an 11-yeat-old bulldog with "special needs." We saw her and she was really cute, but some of her special needs led to the conclusion that she would be best in a one-dog household. We haven't entirely ruled out getting a puppy. My second choice was another 11 year old, a beagle. She was cute and lovable to the handler we saw. However on our visit with her she wanted nothing more than to be on the other side of the door. The counselor said she was "independent" but to me it seemed we stressed her out. She would probably get over that eventually... The next dog we saw we took home. An 8-year-old yellow lab. He has a decided limp which I guess could be the precursor to arthritis or hip displasia. The vet there checked it out and said it was currently ok but to see if our vet wanted us to start him on something for joint pain...
We're in our settling in phase. I tried a walk with the dog...he tugs a bit, wants to greet every dog, every person we meet, and would like to hop in any car for a ride. So we don't have to worry about him being friendly. But he might try to go home with anyone with treats or a car! He had his first accident. We've had two or three dozen trips outside as we're trying to learn the signals for that. The only time I've heard him bark so far is on walks -- when he thinks other dogs should come over and play. He slept through the night the first night.
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