Currently Listening Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea By PJ Harvey, PJ Harvey see related

Fabulous Birthday Weekend

Last night Toxic and I got home frm Vermont, and for the first time since we moved to the city, I was disappointed to return. Even the sight of Manhattan from the Verrazano Bridge couldn’t cheer me. It was just such a great weekend.

Thursday Toxic and I got a little bit of a late start (2 pm instead of 1) but managed to make it to Stratton Mountain, where my Aunt Sharon lives, by around 6:30. My mom and Don were already there, and Sharon’s very sweet Italian beau, Franco, had dinner almost ready. I showed Toxic around the house, which had changed a lot since I was last there fgive years ago. Newly remodeled bathroom and kitchen, which were totally gorgeous. I told my mom that when Toxic and I get a house and she needs inspiration for a house warming gift, she should just talk to Sharon. We all sat down to dinner together. Franco had made Cornish hens with garlic mashed potatoes and string beans. It was delicious. After dinner we had cake and coffee, and I opened my gifts. Mom got me a really rad pair of green Keen sneakers, a couple books and a very lovely bracelet. She also managed to find a watch pendant necklace for $3 at an antique store. I’ve been wanting one. All it needed was a new battery! Don brought me a t-shirt, a bookmark and a skull tchotchke from Brazil, where he was recently for his son’s wedding. Sharon and Franco gave me some cash and two free lift tickets, which was greatly, greatly appreciated, since lift tickets are rather dear. Toxic had given me his gift already. The main part was the couch, which was a Christmas/Birthday gift. But for the actual occasion, he bought me a membership to the Guggenheim. Now we can go to Art After Dark and listen to live music while looking at art! After presents, we had some coffee and watched Pirates of the Caribbean; Dead Man’s Chest until we were all tired.

Friday we got up early and all had breakfast. Franco made pancakes with bacon and sausage, and some really bitchin’ coffee. After we ate, we got ready to hit the mountain. My mom and Don were going down into the valley to cross country ski. Sharon and Franco and Toxic and I went over to the base lodge, where Toxic was able to rent a pair of ski blades (Solomons…probably nicer than mine Line ones, and certainly newer, but not nearly as brutal). We went first to the bunny slope, since Toxic hadn’t had a pair of skis on his feet in about ten years, and had had knee surgery besides. I re-taught him how to ski, and it must be a testament to my teaching skill that he picked it up again quickly, and didn’t injure himself all weekend. Once he was comfortable with the easy slopes, we moved on to bigger things. We even took the gondola to the summit to enjoy the nice long run down. I told him about my first time on that gondola. I was maybe five or six, and I was terrified of it. It goes really fast, all the way to the top, which to a six year old looks about as far away as the moon, and scarily steep and covered with snow. But my dad decreed that I was going to go on the gondola with him, my mother, my aunt, and the guy she was dating at the time. A big family trip to the top. I cried the whole way up. But when we got up there, I found that the summit was actually big enough to be nearly flat for a long stretch, before it started to slope down enough to ski. The adults went slogging along, but I was too short to keep up. So my dad made me stand in front of him and picked me up underneath the arms, and skied along with me dangling in front of him. Which was great, until my 250 pound, six-foot-five father tripped and fell, landing right on top of me. I guilted him about it for the rest of our trip. But I’ve not been scared of the gondola since. Anyway, we stayed until the mountain closed that day at four (they don’t do night skiing at Stratton). At which point we went back to Sharon and Franco’s house and got ready for dinner. Sharon gave me some jewelry that her ex husband had given her and she didn’t want any more. She said, “I always thought this was particularly garish, but you can have the stones reset!”. I realized that I’m Sharon’s only niece. Her only brother’s only child. Which I guess makes our relationship special. When I was younger, I have to admit I didn’t like Sharon very much. And I don’t think she liked me much either. But as I get older I appreciate her more and more. My mom was pointing out all her good qualities: she’s very knowledgeable about a wide range of things, she can talk to anyone, she’s got a great sense of humor, she’s adventurous and always up for anything. She’s very much like my dad was in all those things. My mom’s theory is that Sharon likes me so much because I’m also very like my father. People used to mistake me for Sharon’s daughter, and it doesn’t surprise me to think about it now.  Aaaanyway, it started snowing while we were getting ready, and by the time we left for dinner at 6:15, there was two inches on the ground. We went to this neat restaurant called the Red Fox Inn, which is in the middle of nowhere inside a big old barn. I had a killer (no pun intended, Danielle) rack of lamb with mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, beets and veggies. And then some űber-rich flourless chocolate torte. By the time we left, there was nearly six inches of snow on the ground and it was still going. It was really beautiful. But Toxic’s car couldn’t make it back up the mountain access road, so we had to leave it at the bottom. Once we were all safe inside, we had some vodka tonics and watched Little Miss Sunshine.

Saturday we had to have breakfast on the fly, because the last piece of Sharon and Franco’s kitchen was due to arrive between 9:30 and 10. The last piece being a 700 pound, $5000 slab of marble countertop. It’s a good thing we all stayed, because without Don and Franco’s help, they men never could have gotten it down. Once it was in place, Toxic and I left for the mountain. Sharon and Franco were staying home to put the kitchen back in order, so we got to use Sharon’s VIP parking pass and park right under the lodge. She also gave us coupons for our tickets, which made them $20 apiece instead of a billion (and by a billion, I mean 80). The mountain was more crowded since it was a weekend, but even so it wasn’t too bad. We did a few runs at the front, then made our way over to the Sunbowl, on the other side of the mountain. The Sunbowl’s usually less crowded because the trails are smaller and more difficult, and it’s kind of a pain to get to. And there was hardly anyone there, it was nice. We stayed over there until Toxic’s knee started to feel tired, and we decided to call it a day. But we got in a few more nice runs in making our way back to the main lodge. I was really sad to leave, but by the time we actually did the mountain was closing anyway. Saturday night Franco cooked again, making pasta with shrimp, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, tomatoes, and a bunch of other yummy stuff. For dessert we had some very tasty apple pie with Ben and Jerry’s vanilla ice cream. After dinner we started to watch The Breakup, but Sharon and Franco went to bed early because Sharon had to work on Sunday. I was really touched that she agreed to work a Sunday to have off on Friday for my birthday.  While my mom and Don watched the breakup, Toxic and I spent about twenty minutes soaking in Sharon’s Jacuzzi, then went to bed.

Sunday we slept in a little bit and then had a light breakfast. Sharon had traded with some one to have Friday off, so she was at work. We said our goodbyes to Franco and then went to the mountain, where Sharon works in a ski shop, to say goodbye to her. She gave me her employee discount on a bunch of super-warm Smartwool socks and a hat with headphones built into the earflaps. It’s really nifty. For the first time in a long time, I told Sharon I love her. I hope she realizes that I really do love her, I don’t just use her for her house.

Once we had bid fair well to Sharon we followed my mom and Don to Manchester, where we ate lunch and did some shopping. There’s a bunch of high-end outlet stores in Manchester. I managed to stay away from J. Crew, but I tried on some things in Banana Republic. Unfortunately, the dress I tried there made me look like a fat horrible cow, which depressed me and spoiled the rest of the shopping trip. I wasn’t even able to enjoy the bookstore, which had been remodeled since the last time I was there, and was even more interesting. I want to go back and spend some proper time browsing there, of fretting about why I move to New York, instantly start getting more exercise just from walking, and gain ten pounds.  When my mom had had her fill, she and Don headed for home, while Toxic and I went to EMS in an attempt to salvage my mood. Nothing puts me back in a good mood like outdoor gear, especially when it’s on sale. I got a really cute and warm fleece vest hoody and a humongous backpack that matches the bag I bought at the beginning of last summer. It’s big enough for me to use as an overnight pack, which is what I needed it for. And it was on sale for only $20!!

Sunday when we finally got home we had pizza and watched the rest of Pirate of the Caribbean, and then went to sleep. I was happy to get home, but I really miss Vermont. I wish we lived closer, and that I had a schedule more conducive to taking ski weekends. I had such a nice time with my mom and my aunt and every one. I have to send them all thank-you cards.

Monday was back to the grind, work as usual. Although the boss is finally getting serious, and asked Tess and I to answer the phone instead of letting people leave voicemails and calling them back. And he said we shouldn’t run errands together anymore. We’ll see how long that lasts. Supposedly he’s going to talk to me about expanding my duties on Wednesday or Friday, but we’ll see if he remembers.

Today I went to RFB&D in the morning and read for the first time. It was really awesome, even though I don’t like the sound of my recorded voice. Being in a soundproof room is very strange. You don’t realize how much of your voice is made up of its own echo, until the echo is taken away. The woman who was listening to me read said I was doing an excellent job. I’m very excited to go next week and see what kind of book I’ll be reading. Today is was a college vocabulary textbook that seemed more geared towards 7^th graders. I didn’t know they still taught vocab in college!

Tomorrow is another day at work, and then Thursday at the terrible, horrible, very bad, no good library, which I’m trying not to think about. This coming weekend, another birthday celebration for my city crew!

All in all, a really excellent birthday weekend. Yay Birthday!

Currently Reading The Murder Room: A Novel By P.D. James see related

Birthday!

I've only ever had one really shitty birthday. My seventeenth. Which was oddly also one of the better ones, because I got my driver's license that day. Strange how that works out.

Aaaanyway, I just wanted to let everyone know because I'm really excited. I'll be away for the weekend following my birthday, but in case anyone wanted to throw me a surprise party, I don't have plans for Saturday the 10th...

Currently Listening Collected By Massive Attack see related

A Week of Firsts

Tess is technically my boss, but I've known her for about 17 years. We grew up together. My desk faces hers, so it's easy for us to gossip while working. The office was really dead yesterday. Normally, there would be me and Tess, three or four sales people, the creepy computer guy, and Sousa. I don't know what Sousa does. He's a tall jolly Hispanic guy who I only met once. But since yesterday was MLK day, work was optional. So for most of the day it was me and Tess, and Rebekah, one of the salesgirls. She seemed really nice. I felt bad for her, because she's not very good on the phone, and she works on commission. One of the other salesgirls came in for about three hours and sold three subscriptions. 

I have to admit I'm a little bothered by what we're doing. It's not telemarketing, but it's not not telemarketing. Well, I don't do any of that. Basically, this is how it goes. Somehow, the company gets ahold of the names of a few thousand realtors from all over the world. They're the ones who are going to be in the book, Who's Who in Real Estate. The sales people then call all of these people to get their biography: area of expertise, industry awards or honors, etc. But in the process of getting that info, they try to sell them a copy of the book. If they buy a "membership", their biography is included in the book for multiple years (5 years or for their lifetime, depending on how much money they spend). If they don't buy a membership, they still go in the book, but only for this current edition. 

On one hand, I don't like listening to the sales people trying to be pushy and sell, sell, sell. But there are a couple things on the other hand that mitigate this. One, these are realtors. They're certainly guilty of being pushy to make a sale. Two, (and more importantly) the book does provide a service as far as networking goes. I think what really bothered me yesterday was the second salesgirl, Denise. She's really funny, and very nice, but when she's on the phone with potential members, she does this weird Jekyll and Hyde thing. Her phone voice is really great. She sounds very friendly and professional. But if her pitch isn't going well, she'll put the phone on mute so the person on the other end can't hear her, and then start calling them a cunt, or a fucking whore, or a fat ugly bastard or something equally terrible. The first time she did it, I was idly listening while typing, and I hear "Ok ma'am, now what would you call the highlight of your career? Lick my ass, bitch!" I looked at Tess, who was calmly putting together welcome packets as if this was normal. Apparently it is, Denise does it all the time. It makes me uncomfortable to hear people badmouthed like that, without them even knowing, while they're going on about the awards they've received and what their hobbies are. I've met some pretty oily realtors in my life, and I get uncomfortable when they do their realtor thing, but I don't think anyone deserves to be called a fag because they like to garden. I guess Denise is just the kind of person I would enjoy joking with, but wouldn't trust behind my back. I'll have to learn to tune her out. Other than that, the day went fine. I'm just doing office stuff and editorial tasks, so I'm not sucking the blood out of anyone.

Today is my first day of classes for the semester. I have cataloging this afternoon. I think this might be the most challenging course I'll have to take. According to a friend of mine, cataloging was the only MLS course he got less than an A in when he was in school. But I have some friends who took the course with the same professor last semester, so if I need to beg some tutoring I can.

Earlier this week (well actually late last week, but within the last seven days) I did my first stint of volunteering for RFB&D (Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic). It was really cool. The organization records textbooks and other print material for the use of those who are blind or have print disorders like dyslexia. Unlike books on tape, RFB&D books can be navigated by section, chapter, or page, and any illustrations, footnotes, glossaries, etc. are recorded as well. If there's a picture, the reader describes it in detail. It's quite cool. I decided to volunteer there, because two of my very good friends have severe dyslexia, and used RFB&D throughout their high school years. Now they're both in excellent colleges (Lehigh and Moravian!). Their father was telling me about RFB&D, he reads for them now as a way to give back. So I decided I'd do it too. I get to feel like I'm doing good things for others, just by reading a book! 

Incidentally, RFB&D has recording studios all over the US. If there's one near you, you should check it out. They're very friendly and flexible, and they only ask for two hours a week of your time. Go here: www.rfbd.org. 

So that's my week of firsts. I have to go do some reading before class...the textbook is really, really boring. I hope I do well this semester. I'm taking real classes now, not just introductory ones (well, two real ones and one final introductory one) and I hope the workload doesn't overwhelm me, now that I have a real work/volunteer schedule.

C.