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so i drove 6 out of the past 7 days this week for an extended period of time. here's how it looked.
Trip #1: Scott's wedding
Musical selections: Edie Brickell, A-ha, Bif Naked, Duran Duran, Fleming & John, Live, lostprophets, Material Issue, Matthew Good Band, Moxy Fruvous, No Doubt, R.E.M., some Cat Stevens for irony
Thursday:
Had the day off, but didn't do what i probably should have. figured i could pack while john was in class from 7 to 10. dropped the dog of at Mom's and john off at class. while getting gas and money, though, had a call from john that his class was cancelled. if i had packed, we could have left early. grrr. so i continue on my errands, chatting with a friend (yes, i used the earpiece) whom i nearly scared the crap out of when i announced mid-sentence that i nearly hit a deer. oops. so home i went to pack while john got a ride with a classmate and we still wound up leaving at ten.
Not off to a good start because we remember about two seconds too late that the 290 is under construction after 9. detours. but we make it out of new york, through pennsylvania, and into ohio by 12:30. we contemplate why upon entering both ohio and PA, there was immediately a 24-hour adult shop with huge neon sign. i guess when you gots to have your porn...
We crash at the Travelodge in Ashtabula. good cable. nothing in the toiletries worth stealing.
Friday:
Off to Dublin, home of Wendy's, even though the first Wendy's is actually in Columbus. hmmm. very tired because john was snoring and impeded my ability to sleep so i'm not really in the mood for john's family. but i get to watch a great old episode of "Magnum P.I." with john's uncle and cousin eric before slipping back to my room to watch soaps while i change for the rehearsal.
Beth, the bride, is late picking us up for the rehearsal and she's the most nervous bride i've ever seen. and the highway in columbus is a little daunting as i try to follow her crazed driving, but i'm from buffalo and keep up just fine. the passengers in my car and her car are talking about it the rest of the weekend.
i'm not really needed at the rehearsal so i take pictures of the very cool conservatory they had the ceremony at. everyone thinks i'm the photographer.
dinner is good. back to the hotel for more family stuff, which i thankfully get out of quickly and head to bed while john hangs with the boys. sleep is good, but i have to get up early for the wedding. plus for a hotel meant for long term visitors, Extended Stay America has terrible cable. soap worth stealing, though.
Saturday:
Because they planned this wedding in five months, they got stuck with a 10:30 a.m. wedding. i hate mornings. but it was a very nice ceremony and everyone still thinks i'm the photographer despite the real one hanging around and also despite the fact that i'm sitting with the family. but whatever.
the reception was fun. scott and beth were kind enough to think of me when planning the seating chart and sat me with their college friends rather than the remaining family not at the head table. i appreciate them thinking of me. the d.j. may be the worst i've ever seen, but john's cousins know how to make anything fun. i have some lovely pictures of their dancing escapades.
we decorate the car and john tapes them leaving, falling into a hole in the process. that's some priceless footage, i tell you. then we all head out for home.
we are almost there by 11:30 when john's cellphone rings and it's his folks looking for a place to stay because every hotel between fredonia and hamburg is full with Patriots fans for the next day's Bills game. my state of exhaustion is not happy with this, but we all make the best of it.
as i empty out my pockets, i realize i have some gas receipts so i throw them into my banking desk, only to find a ceramic frog in there. i mention to john that we need to check the yard the next day since my sister was in town and they must have left stuff when they dropped the dog off. last time, we got flamingoes in the yard, which prompted us to steal my mom's lawn gnome last thanksgiving (which is a great story, but for another entry). frogs were the revenge. we do a brief search and come up with nearly all of the 8 left around my house. we find the rest in the morning after a more thorough search.
Sunday:
The in-laws gone, i sleep until 11:30, unpack, do laundry, and repack for my conference.
Trip #2 CASA conference
Musical selections: more Edie Brickell, Butterfly Boucher, Tea Party, Andy Stochansky, Scott Weiland, XTC, Concrete Blonde, Fiona Apple, Tom Petty, Beck, Cure, Tori Amos, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Rusted Root, Gordon Downie, System of a Down, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Ben Harper, and Dido
Monday:
I don't leave when i intend to, as usual. because i have a cold and am drinking much orange juice, i stop a lot more than i'd like to. it doesn't help that those damn Patriots fans are clogging up the roadways and rest stops. and why don't automatic toilets flush when they're supposed to, damn it? i'm getting tense about this drive to Tarrytown since i'm so very close to NYC (15 miles). i have to go over the Tappan Zee Bridge which, while having a very interesting name, was rather scary. i mean, i don't like the Grand Island Bridge. but i get there in time for the stupid mingling reception.
my bed at the Westchester Marriott is sooooooooooooooo comfortable. down pillows, down comforter, and i think some down in that mattress. and good toiletries to steal. i watch "Everwood," play with the decent cable, make some calls, and get to bed. i wake up feeling unwell thanks to my earlier McDonald's meal (why can't they get better food at those rest stops?!) and have some always on-hand Pepto Bismol. it works slowly so i miss out on some more sleep.
Tuesday:
Most boring conference ever, which reminds me why i like to work hands on with the kids rather than do administrative BS. i skip an afternoon session to complain to john and sheila and get my cds ready so i can book as soon as it's over, which i do, passing a car with this license plate on my way out: JED1NITE.
i head to the Utica exit and know i'm going to get lost on my way to jackie's place in Rome. i do, more than once, so i scrap my horrible Yahoo directions and just have jackie get me there by phone. jackie tries to feed me, which i decline since it's 9:30 and my digestive system is still not happy with me. we chill for a couple hours and then i am out like a light on the futon.
Wednesday:
i wake up at 7:30 when jackie is leaving, but fall back asleep after she leaves, sleeping much later than i intended. how very me. i decide i will just shower when i get home so i put the Today show on while i'm brushing my teeth and getting dressed. Tony Masiello, the mayor of Buffalo, is on showing people how to shovel snow correctly. i'm officially living a surreal life.
since i'm in rome, i figure i'll take a quick run around the ex's neighborhood since i spent so much time in this city back in the day. i lose my bearings a couple times, but finally get on the right path. drive by sean's parent's house. there's a couple cars in the driveway, which tempts me to stop and knock. but i don't because what in the world would i say and plus i'm not even showered. i consider stopping when i'm there for jackie's wedding, but sheila has inadvertently talked me out of it.
at this point, i just want to get home and am mystified with myself at my ability to take misery and just wallow in it. i may not look goth, but i think sometimes i have a goth soul. it enjoys the wallowing (yet another separate entry topic, i suppose).
three hours later, and that's the end of it. no more driving for a while, thank you very much.
Trip #1: Scott's wedding
Musical selections: Edie Brickell, A-ha, Bif Naked, Duran Duran, Fleming & John, Live, lostprophets, Material Issue, Matthew Good Band, Moxy Fruvous, No Doubt, R.E.M., some Cat Stevens for irony
Thursday:
Had the day off, but didn't do what i probably should have. figured i could pack while john was in class from 7 to 10. dropped the dog of at Mom's and john off at class. while getting gas and money, though, had a call from john that his class was cancelled. if i had packed, we could have left early. grrr. so i continue on my errands, chatting with a friend (yes, i used the earpiece) whom i nearly scared the crap out of when i announced mid-sentence that i nearly hit a deer. oops. so home i went to pack while john got a ride with a classmate and we still wound up leaving at ten.
Not off to a good start because we remember about two seconds too late that the 290 is under construction after 9. detours. but we make it out of new york, through pennsylvania, and into ohio by 12:30. we contemplate why upon entering both ohio and PA, there was immediately a 24-hour adult shop with huge neon sign. i guess when you gots to have your porn...
We crash at the Travelodge in Ashtabula. good cable. nothing in the toiletries worth stealing.
Friday:
Off to Dublin, home of Wendy's, even though the first Wendy's is actually in Columbus. hmmm. very tired because john was snoring and impeded my ability to sleep so i'm not really in the mood for john's family. but i get to watch a great old episode of "Magnum P.I." with john's uncle and cousin eric before slipping back to my room to watch soaps while i change for the rehearsal.
Beth, the bride, is late picking us up for the rehearsal and she's the most nervous bride i've ever seen. and the highway in columbus is a little daunting as i try to follow her crazed driving, but i'm from buffalo and keep up just fine. the passengers in my car and her car are talking about it the rest of the weekend.
i'm not really needed at the rehearsal so i take pictures of the very cool conservatory they had the ceremony at. everyone thinks i'm the photographer.
dinner is good. back to the hotel for more family stuff, which i thankfully get out of quickly and head to bed while john hangs with the boys. sleep is good, but i have to get up early for the wedding. plus for a hotel meant for long term visitors, Extended Stay America has terrible cable. soap worth stealing, though.
Saturday:
Because they planned this wedding in five months, they got stuck with a 10:30 a.m. wedding. i hate mornings. but it was a very nice ceremony and everyone still thinks i'm the photographer despite the real one hanging around and also despite the fact that i'm sitting with the family. but whatever.
the reception was fun. scott and beth were kind enough to think of me when planning the seating chart and sat me with their college friends rather than the remaining family not at the head table. i appreciate them thinking of me. the d.j. may be the worst i've ever seen, but john's cousins know how to make anything fun. i have some lovely pictures of their dancing escapades.
we decorate the car and john tapes them leaving, falling into a hole in the process. that's some priceless footage, i tell you. then we all head out for home.
we are almost there by 11:30 when john's cellphone rings and it's his folks looking for a place to stay because every hotel between fredonia and hamburg is full with Patriots fans for the next day's Bills game. my state of exhaustion is not happy with this, but we all make the best of it.
as i empty out my pockets, i realize i have some gas receipts so i throw them into my banking desk, only to find a ceramic frog in there. i mention to john that we need to check the yard the next day since my sister was in town and they must have left stuff when they dropped the dog off. last time, we got flamingoes in the yard, which prompted us to steal my mom's lawn gnome last thanksgiving (which is a great story, but for another entry). frogs were the revenge. we do a brief search and come up with nearly all of the 8 left around my house. we find the rest in the morning after a more thorough search.
Sunday:
The in-laws gone, i sleep until 11:30, unpack, do laundry, and repack for my conference.
Trip #2 CASA conference
Musical selections: more Edie Brickell, Butterfly Boucher, Tea Party, Andy Stochansky, Scott Weiland, XTC, Concrete Blonde, Fiona Apple, Tom Petty, Beck, Cure, Tori Amos, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Rusted Root, Gordon Downie, System of a Down, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Ben Harper, and Dido
Monday:
I don't leave when i intend to, as usual. because i have a cold and am drinking much orange juice, i stop a lot more than i'd like to. it doesn't help that those damn Patriots fans are clogging up the roadways and rest stops. and why don't automatic toilets flush when they're supposed to, damn it? i'm getting tense about this drive to Tarrytown since i'm so very close to NYC (15 miles). i have to go over the Tappan Zee Bridge which, while having a very interesting name, was rather scary. i mean, i don't like the Grand Island Bridge. but i get there in time for the stupid mingling reception.
my bed at the Westchester Marriott is sooooooooooooooo comfortable. down pillows, down comforter, and i think some down in that mattress. and good toiletries to steal. i watch "Everwood," play with the decent cable, make some calls, and get to bed. i wake up feeling unwell thanks to my earlier McDonald's meal (why can't they get better food at those rest stops?!) and have some always on-hand Pepto Bismol. it works slowly so i miss out on some more sleep.
Tuesday:
Most boring conference ever, which reminds me why i like to work hands on with the kids rather than do administrative BS. i skip an afternoon session to complain to john and sheila and get my cds ready so i can book as soon as it's over, which i do, passing a car with this license plate on my way out: JED1NITE.
i head to the Utica exit and know i'm going to get lost on my way to jackie's place in Rome. i do, more than once, so i scrap my horrible Yahoo directions and just have jackie get me there by phone. jackie tries to feed me, which i decline since it's 9:30 and my digestive system is still not happy with me. we chill for a couple hours and then i am out like a light on the futon.
Wednesday:
i wake up at 7:30 when jackie is leaving, but fall back asleep after she leaves, sleeping much later than i intended. how very me. i decide i will just shower when i get home so i put the Today show on while i'm brushing my teeth and getting dressed. Tony Masiello, the mayor of Buffalo, is on showing people how to shovel snow correctly. i'm officially living a surreal life.
since i'm in rome, i figure i'll take a quick run around the ex's neighborhood since i spent so much time in this city back in the day. i lose my bearings a couple times, but finally get on the right path. drive by sean's parent's house. there's a couple cars in the driveway, which tempts me to stop and knock. but i don't because what in the world would i say and plus i'm not even showered. i consider stopping when i'm there for jackie's wedding, but sheila has inadvertently talked me out of it.
at this point, i just want to get home and am mystified with myself at my ability to take misery and just wallow in it. i may not look goth, but i think sometimes i have a goth soul. it enjoys the wallowing (yet another separate entry topic, i suppose).
three hours later, and that's the end of it. no more driving for a while, thank you very much.
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no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 08:12 pm (UTC)From:the JED1NITE plate is too funny...
i wont be a nervous bride at all as i will be in vegas doing it up drunk style...
fun times...