Posts Tagged ‘travel’
friday free for all »
Friday, January 23rd, 2009
… The Oscar noms have been announced. Here’s the list on ScreenCrave. I’ll have more on this later after I’ve cine-binged and have more to say on the topic. (Downey Jr.? Really?)
… Today, for me, is a half day. To say I’m looking forward to my trip to Sydney is an understatement. But so is saying I’m not excited about the travel. Here’s how I imagine the trip going:
- Depart to Chicago, 3.30p today. Finish one book because it’s written at a third-grade reading level (Left Behind series… heard of it?)
- Fly to San Francisco. Hustle desperately for connecting flight with only an hour betwixt.
- Fly to Sydney. Finish another book, pace incessantly, twitch uncontrollably, cry incrementally and murmur gibberish constantly.
- Arrive in Sydney, 8a Sunday. Wobble off the plane on atrophied legs, kiss the ground and start greeting everyone with “g’day mate!” in a terrible British accent.
Return trip:
- Repeat the above, in backward order, replacing SFO with LAX and doing it all within one day. End with crushing jet-lag.
… Because of the above, posts next week will be sparse or non-existent. No apologies, just like last time.
friday free for all »
Friday, January 9th, 2009
… I had to scrape ice from the inside of my windshield Tuesday night. That’s the most painful “welcome back to winter” bitch slap I’m able to think of.
… Every month, we have an employee newsletter. (Think, “how could an office be more lame?” and you can probably imagine most of the topics covered.) I, (un)fortunately, was chosen this month.
I was emailed a set of questions and I answered most of them, as honest as possible, thinking they wouldn’t take as many as they did. The “interview” is as follows, word for word but for some anonymity-motivated redacting. (Links added.)
- Where did you grow up? [Hometown]. Northwest of Milwaukee.
- What are your plans for the holidays this year? I’m going back to MKE for Christmas, then to Cabo San Lucas until New Years Day.
- What’s on your wish list? Money, clothes and money. In that order.
- If you were not in Marketing at [Employer], what else what [sic] you like to do as a career? Design websites for small and medium sized businesses from somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe become a retiree. I hear good things.
- What are some of your hobbies? Watching movies, blogging, snowboarding (theoretically) and darts.
- Describe your favorite thing to do on the weekend during Minnesota winters. Relaxing with a movie, a fire and some drinks with a few choice friends.
- What is your order at your favorite restaurant? Juicy Lucy with pepperjack in the center, cheddar on top and jojo’s on the side at the 5.8 Club or a medium meatball and chicken pizza from Fat Lorenzo’s.
- What did you want to be when you grew up? A lottery winner.
- What’s the last concert you went to? Kings of Leon at the State Theater.
- What is the most interesting place you’ve ever traveled to? The NW coast, Portland and Seattle. Which just barely beat out Wall Drug by a few figurative miles.
- What will your News Years Resolution(s) be for 2009? To take certain things less seriously, others more seriously and to enjoy every day more than I’ve enjoyed the last. That, or to lose ten pounds.
… and finally:
It looks like I’m headed to Vegas in March. I have no idea how I’m going to do this but there’s a wedding in the works. (Sacrifices right? ::snicker::)
six days of relax »
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
Friday the twenty-sixth, I found myself watching the sun set over a different country. This (here’s some redundancy for the threes of you regular readers) was a first. It was strange, magnificent and similar to anywhere else.
The resort is wicked (snaps in the usual places). The rooms are set in separate buildings, white concrete with clay roofs, with a pool, jacuzzi, dining, bar area in the center. I spent a lot of time there.
We hung around with Girlfriend’s aunt and her family the first two nights (our trips overlapped). We walked around the property during the day, taking snaps. We found out how to get to Wal-Mart, wandered into some abandoned near-houses (peso devaluation, divestment, hurricane) and chilled.
Saturday we had lunch at Gardenias, a local dive with the best tacos I’ve ever eaten (sans-cheese no less). Monday we hit the marina (too many too-eager merchants of too much junk), Lover’s Beach (touches both the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico) and resort row (called the main beach but only about 300 square yards isn’t associated with a bar or hotel).
Monday night we stayed in with some wine. Tuesday night we went to Cabo Wabo to watch old people rip rug to Sammy Hagar and Toby Keith (way more awesome than it sounds). Wednesday was New Years and I spent it on the beach watching two members of Idle Eyes in their new band, wearing a sweater and jeans, drinking Mexican beer.
Thursday we were supposed to leave, which you all know already.
how to cast a shadow over six days in paradise… »
Monday, January 5th, 2009
… add two days in US Airways aero-hell.
I’ll get to the scrotum tearing awesome that is the bulk of my trip a bit later. Today, let me rehash things more fresh on my neurons.
Our flight was set to leave Thursday afternoon, for transfer in Phoenix to Milwaukee. Instead, seven hours was spent waiting on a broken plane (while two other flights took off on schedule) before we were shipped to a family-oriented, Hilton-Express-style all-inclusive with orders to return Friday.
There was an impressively terrible Latin dance show, some unfortunate buffet-style dining and a bunch of tweens that probably popped their first pube over the scantily clad, talent-free dancers. The experience was almost hilarious enough to make the destroyed plans, hectic schedule and lack of worthwhile customer service worth it. (Almost.)
Friday, we arrived at the airport about 8am. We waited until about eleven, took off, and landed. We talked to a few personnel, learned no one below some guy (named Chet in a dark office, taking hits off a 20oz Mountain Dew, offering vouchers on whims) has any actual power and found out there was nothing “they” could do but for $20 in meal vouchers.
Girlfriend and I wandered about the Phoenix airport (Chili’s!), made overdue phone calls and played on their free interweb. For seven hours. After another hour delay (with an awesome bump to first class) we ended up back in Milwaukee about 1.30am.
The experience was what I imagine being scalped is like. I can only hope Girlfriend’s strongly (and well) worded email reaches someone at US Airways (Chet?) to compensate our frustration.
Again, more on the holiday break (a week late) in coming days.
chicago in review »
Monday, November 17th, 2008
Chicago, the Windy City: awesome. I got there Friday on time (despite taking the “express” Megabus) and met up with Nate. We went out to Millennium Park, Navy Pier and the Freedom Museum, meeting up with Andrew after work.
Dinner turned out to be some sort of Top Chef-esque dinner party (courtesy @joejanas). There was a lot of drinking, followed by Tuman’s for more.
Saturday, Andrew started things off with a gigantic breakfast and then we went to Wicker Park, wandered Milwaukee and stopped in for some local retail at Urban Outfitters. For dinner, we went to Coast Sushi Bar.
Andrew talked up the specialty roll, named White Dragon, as if it were a mythical potion of sex, drugs and teen pop hits. Turns out, he downplayed it slightly. From there we went to Horseshoe to watch Fox and the Grapes and the Screaming Bulldogs. (All while drinking; obviously.)
Sunday, I went grocery shopping with Andrew and we headed downtown to meet Nate so he could head back to “the Burgh.” We had obligatory (and delicious) deep-dish at Exchequer. Andrew headed off and I wandered downtown a bit before catching the bus.
Thanks to Andrew for the hosting, Joe for the grub and Coast for a reason to live. (I’d apologize to Jo for not meeting up but she’s not a reader.)
With the drunk sleep and only two hours rest last night, the excessive walking in cold weather and the brutal ingestion battle that raged between myself and the part of my brain that recognizes limits, I’m the worse for the wear. My head and legs ache, my right foot had some sort of shooting pain last night and I’m serenading my co-cube-dwellers with a tone-deaf dry cough.
Snaps are, or will be, in the usual places. As I wander through occupational tasks in a groggy mist of wish-I-wasn’t-here, I’ll leave you with this, unrelated, question: why is this desperate call for spousal commitment seen as empowering?