3.30.2006
After trying on numerous pairs of sunglasses...
...I have come to the conclusion that my face is crooked.
3.26.2006
random product placement
I do not know this for a fact, but I think that Trader Joe's Italian Blood Orange Soda would make the BEST Mimosas.
Also, every year, without fail, Neutrogena comes out with some craaaazy new suncare product that I just have to buy. Damn them.
In all seriousness, though, if it delivers as promised this new Helioplex stuff is huge. It's supposed to do what Meroxyl, which isn't available in the U.S. because the FDA says it's a drug and has to be approved, does. And that is to provide UVA protection that isn't photosensitive (i.e. breaks down in the sun, which is, of course, bad in a SUNSCREEN).
I, sunscreen nerd, will be testing this out on vacation. Neutrogena also makes an SPF 55 (55! holy cow!) of their amazing Dry Touch stuff with the Helioplex, which I also picked up at Target today.
Yes, I know, vacation isn't until June. But as fast as March has gone by it'll be here before I know it. At least that's the theory...
Also, every year, without fail, Neutrogena comes out with some craaaazy new suncare product that I just have to buy. Damn them.
In all seriousness, though, if it delivers as promised this new Helioplex stuff is huge. It's supposed to do what Meroxyl, which isn't available in the U.S. because the FDA says it's a drug and has to be approved, does. And that is to provide UVA protection that isn't photosensitive (i.e. breaks down in the sun, which is, of course, bad in a SUNSCREEN).
I, sunscreen nerd, will be testing this out on vacation. Neutrogena also makes an SPF 55 (55! holy cow!) of their amazing Dry Touch stuff with the Helioplex, which I also picked up at Target today.
Yes, I know, vacation isn't until June. But as fast as March has gone by it'll be here before I know it. At least that's the theory...
3.19.2006
arbitration
Realized I should post an arbitration update.
There isn't much to update at this point. I think it went okay but they have to have an independent technical type person take the car for a test drive, and then after that I will get the ruling in writing.
So I won't know how it turned out for at least a little while.
There isn't much to update at this point. I think it went okay but they have to have an independent technical type person take the car for a test drive, and then after that I will get the ruling in writing.
So I won't know how it turned out for at least a little while.
Dear Bed, Bath and Beyond
I know you must read this blog since the furniture in a box I purchased yesterday (yes, I know I promised to quit but it was just a little tiny table!) was actually really well-wrapped and showed no evidence of having been punted across your store at some point. Given my past experiences with futniture in a box I have to say I was amazed to pull out piece after piece and not find a giant gash in one of the legs, or that the tabletop had split in half, or the little middle piece was missing.
However, I must correct you on one point. Nothing that involves GLUE should ever be labeled easy to assemble. I don't care if the instructions are: "Glue part A to part B. Congratulations, you are done!"
Glue automatically negates ease of assembly. It just does.
But, really, congratulations on getting that whole wrapping-the-furniture-so-that-half-doesn't-get-bought-damaged thing. If I have any other issues I'll just post them here and you can get right on them.
Thx,
Carrie
However, I must correct you on one point. Nothing that involves GLUE should ever be labeled easy to assemble. I don't care if the instructions are: "Glue part A to part B. Congratulations, you are done!"
Glue automatically negates ease of assembly. It just does.
But, really, congratulations on getting that whole wrapping-the-furniture-so-that-half-doesn't-get-bought-damaged thing. If I have any other issues I'll just post them here and you can get right on them.
Thx,
Carrie
3.12.2006
Oh, by the way, it's ON
I keep forgetting to post that my arbitration hearing with Hyundai is scheduled for this Thursday. Apparently I won't find out until later what the arbitrator decides, but whether I know or not I'm sure I'll be ready for plenty 'o Guinness Friday. Heh.
3.11.2006
you knew the Apple rant was coming
It was just a matter of time.
For the first time ever, I actually bought something on iTunes because of collaborative filtering (for the record, it was "Emerge," by Fischerspooner).
In my brief time using iTunes, it has frustrated me on many different levels. I am a frequent Amazon.com user, and I've gotten used to their level of personalization and collaborative filtering. They say "We thought you might be interested in..." and they might as well have said "Put this in your shopping cart, now!" I'm used to them reminding me that I looked at Grey's Anatomy on DVD the other day and saying, "oh, crap, I was going to buy Grey's Anatomy on DVD!" That sort of thing.
iTunes is not nearly so helpful. If you were, say, listening to previews of some of the songs on the 97x Top 97 list one day, and came back the next deciding you were going to buy some, well, you're on your own finding that list again, sucker. Because search won't work and iTunes isn't going to HELP YOU SPEND MONEY by indicating what you looked at recently. They do provide other top downloads and related artists and other such stuff, but I still feel lost half the time on iTunes. And they don't have that uncanny knack for constantly knowing what you want even before you do.
And don't even get me started on the usability issues. The search text box with no button! Argh! Sure, it's all Appley streamlined and sleek, but there's plenty of space for a search button that would keep bunches of users from getting tripped up (myself included).
I've got similar bones with the iPod, although I like mine. Such as having to reformat the damn thing to get songs off. They call it synching your iPod, when you hook it up to the computer so it can have its little mind meld with iTunes. But it's not SYNCHING if it doesn't remove from the iPod the songs you've removed from iTunes. What it's doing would be better termed DUMPING. It's a good thing PDAs don't synch with Outlook this way or executives around the world would be showing up for cancelled meetings all the time.
And then there's the scroll wheel, which I use daily to blow right past whatever artist or song I'm trying to find. I thought that I would get used to it, but I think operating something primarily with your thumb might just be inherently bad ergonomics. Someone posted this critique of the iPod on a mailing list I'm on, and I found myself nodding my head to the whole thing.
But I'm going to keep the iPod for quite awhile, because it is still a hell of a lot better than my ginormous MP3/CD player, my previous mobile music solution. And I'm stuck with iTunes until somebody else comes along with something better. Come on, Amazon, you know you want to!
For the first time ever, I actually bought something on iTunes because of collaborative filtering (for the record, it was "Emerge," by Fischerspooner).
In my brief time using iTunes, it has frustrated me on many different levels. I am a frequent Amazon.com user, and I've gotten used to their level of personalization and collaborative filtering. They say "We thought you might be interested in..." and they might as well have said "Put this in your shopping cart, now!" I'm used to them reminding me that I looked at Grey's Anatomy on DVD the other day and saying, "oh, crap, I was going to buy Grey's Anatomy on DVD!" That sort of thing.
iTunes is not nearly so helpful. If you were, say, listening to previews of some of the songs on the 97x Top 97 list one day, and came back the next deciding you were going to buy some, well, you're on your own finding that list again, sucker. Because search won't work and iTunes isn't going to HELP YOU SPEND MONEY by indicating what you looked at recently. They do provide other top downloads and related artists and other such stuff, but I still feel lost half the time on iTunes. And they don't have that uncanny knack for constantly knowing what you want even before you do.
And don't even get me started on the usability issues. The search text box with no button! Argh! Sure, it's all Appley streamlined and sleek, but there's plenty of space for a search button that would keep bunches of users from getting tripped up (myself included).
I've got similar bones with the iPod, although I like mine. Such as having to reformat the damn thing to get songs off. They call it synching your iPod, when you hook it up to the computer so it can have its little mind meld with iTunes. But it's not SYNCHING if it doesn't remove from the iPod the songs you've removed from iTunes. What it's doing would be better termed DUMPING. It's a good thing PDAs don't synch with Outlook this way or executives around the world would be showing up for cancelled meetings all the time.
And then there's the scroll wheel, which I use daily to blow right past whatever artist or song I'm trying to find. I thought that I would get used to it, but I think operating something primarily with your thumb might just be inherently bad ergonomics. Someone posted this critique of the iPod on a mailing list I'm on, and I found myself nodding my head to the whole thing.
But I'm going to keep the iPod for quite awhile, because it is still a hell of a lot better than my ginormous MP3/CD player, my previous mobile music solution. And I'm stuck with iTunes until somebody else comes along with something better. Come on, Amazon, you know you want to!
2.16.2006
Best sport ever!
Why did no one think of this Snowboardcross before?
It's got jumping, bumping and crashing, and when it's calm, it's oddly mesmerizing.
It's got jumping, bumping and crashing, and when it's calm, it's oddly mesmerizing.
2.11.2006
Why the Olympics are bad
Already, today, I've had a conversation with myself that went something like this:
Carrie: Come on, you have to get up off of the couch and do something productive.
Carrie: But, the Olympics are on!
Carrie: You don't need to watch the WHOLE Olympics. Your apartment is a mess. You need to go to Target.
Carrie: Rarely in my life do I actually NEED to go to Target. Think of the money I will save.
Carrie: Nordic combined just came on. If you watch Nordic combined now, in a week you will be slumped in the middle of your living room in a couch potato stupor, enthralled with curling.
Carrie: OK, damn it, you're right. What do you think is on tonight?
Carrie: Come on, you have to get up off of the couch and do something productive.
Carrie: But, the Olympics are on!
Carrie: You don't need to watch the WHOLE Olympics. Your apartment is a mess. You need to go to Target.
Carrie: Rarely in my life do I actually NEED to go to Target. Think of the money I will save.
Carrie: Nordic combined just came on. If you watch Nordic combined now, in a week you will be slumped in the middle of your living room in a couch potato stupor, enthralled with curling.
Carrie: OK, damn it, you're right. What do you think is on tonight?
2.04.2006
carma
Thursday night on my way home from the Crazy Fox, I almost got broadsided by a guy running a red light on Fifth Street downtown. Luckily, something felt wrong, and I checked the intersection before I went, because BAM, there goes little likely drunk red car through the intersection.
And I found myself thinking, wouldn't that be ironic and anticlimactic, if my lemon Hyundai was totaled after all the crap I've been through?
However, I've seen enough of the crash test results on my size car to know that, side air bags aside, I would not have fared well in that crash, so it's probably all for the best.
Unless next week I get in a stall-caused crash or something...
And I found myself thinking, wouldn't that be ironic and anticlimactic, if my lemon Hyundai was totaled after all the crap I've been through?
However, I've seen enough of the crash test results on my size car to know that, side air bags aside, I would not have fared well in that crash, so it's probably all for the best.
Unless next week I get in a stall-caused crash or something...
1.29.2006
best hair day ever!
That isn't actually today, it was yesterday.
I went to the Aveda Institute to get my hair cut, and got the best haircut of my life. Now, granted, I average about one haircut a year, where I take off the six-eight inches that have grown since my last haircut, so it's not like I've actually had a huge number of haircuts before.
But anyway, my hair's now shoulder-length, and layered, and THINNED (They can thin it? Who knew? And why did no one suggest this before?). Now the trick will be to actually style it the way it's supposed to be occasionally.
I went to the Aveda Institute to get my hair cut, and got the best haircut of my life. Now, granted, I average about one haircut a year, where I take off the six-eight inches that have grown since my last haircut, so it's not like I've actually had a huge number of haircuts before.
But anyway, my hair's now shoulder-length, and layered, and THINNED (They can thin it? Who knew? And why did no one suggest this before?). Now the trick will be to actually style it the way it's supposed to be occasionally.
1.22.2006
Ode to my five-year-old Timex
Oh, Timex, I thought this afternoon it was over.
When I turned that corner too tight and knocked my wrist (and you) against the doorframe, and noticed an hour later that you were covered in streaks of white paint, I thought, this is it — I am going to have to put poor old Timex in a forgotten drawer of my jewelry box and go to Target to plunk down $24.99 for a replacement. I think this is how much a replacement you costs at Target. Obviously it has been awhile since I bought a new watch.
I tried to wipe off the streaks with my shirt and then a tissue, but they wouldn't budge. Poor little Timex, I thought you'd be felled in your prime. You're only five (or maybe six, or seven) years old, and only on your third battery!
I've had you so long I can't remember when I got you. I know there was another watch sometime around my freshman or sophomore year of college — I can remember the strap breaking and a futile search in the steps and lawn of Harbourt Hall. Clearly, that watch was not as durable as you.
Because when I tried eyeglass cleaner spray, the streaks came off, and your face was as good as new. How resilient you are!
I have to admit I was relieved. Sure, you're, like, the greatest watch of all time, so Target still carries your model. But it wouldn't be the same. We've got a lot of history, Timex. You let me know when I was strolling into my undergrad classes 15 minutes late. You lit up your little Indiglo face in countless dark clubs and movie theaters. You got me to job interviews on time. We've been swimming in my grungy apartment pool and the beautiful blue Caribbean together (because you're waterproof, not water resistant!).
I know you've seen the new watch I got for Christmas, the pretty beaded one. I know you might be jealous, but you don't need to worry. Sure, it's pretty, and I'll wear it sometimes when I want to dress up, but, really, you need a break occasionally. You don't need to worry about your place in the watch hierarchy — you're still the functional little master of time around this apartment.
About that ramming you into doorframes every once and awhile...you know I don't mean to do it, right? You know I'm just not very careful with my appendages when I turn corners sometimes. After all, it's not always you getting hit. Sometimes it's my elbow, or my thumb, or my knee, or my toe. I'll try to be more careful in the future, though.
Here's to five (or maybe six, or seven) more years together.
When I turned that corner too tight and knocked my wrist (and you) against the doorframe, and noticed an hour later that you were covered in streaks of white paint, I thought, this is it — I am going to have to put poor old Timex in a forgotten drawer of my jewelry box and go to Target to plunk down $24.99 for a replacement. I think this is how much a replacement you costs at Target. Obviously it has been awhile since I bought a new watch.
I tried to wipe off the streaks with my shirt and then a tissue, but they wouldn't budge. Poor little Timex, I thought you'd be felled in your prime. You're only five (or maybe six, or seven) years old, and only on your third battery!
I've had you so long I can't remember when I got you. I know there was another watch sometime around my freshman or sophomore year of college — I can remember the strap breaking and a futile search in the steps and lawn of Harbourt Hall. Clearly, that watch was not as durable as you.
Because when I tried eyeglass cleaner spray, the streaks came off, and your face was as good as new. How resilient you are!
I have to admit I was relieved. Sure, you're, like, the greatest watch of all time, so Target still carries your model. But it wouldn't be the same. We've got a lot of history, Timex. You let me know when I was strolling into my undergrad classes 15 minutes late. You lit up your little Indiglo face in countless dark clubs and movie theaters. You got me to job interviews on time. We've been swimming in my grungy apartment pool and the beautiful blue Caribbean together (because you're waterproof, not water resistant!).
I know you've seen the new watch I got for Christmas, the pretty beaded one. I know you might be jealous, but you don't need to worry. Sure, it's pretty, and I'll wear it sometimes when I want to dress up, but, really, you need a break occasionally. You don't need to worry about your place in the watch hierarchy — you're still the functional little master of time around this apartment.
About that ramming you into doorframes every once and awhile...you know I don't mean to do it, right? You know I'm just not very careful with my appendages when I turn corners sometimes. After all, it's not always you getting hit. Sometimes it's my elbow, or my thumb, or my knee, or my toe. I'll try to be more careful in the future, though.
Here's to five (or maybe six, or seven) more years together.
1.15.2006
lemony...fresh?
For anyone who hasn't been following my Hyundai Lemon Saga, and I'm not sure if there actually IS anyone, as I think I've whined to nearly the whole free world about it...
Tuesday two weeks ago, the car stalled on the interstate again. I pulled over to the side of the road and was able to start after 10-15 minutes, and took it in to Hyundai the next day, where they replaced the crankshaft sensor AGAIN.
I sent a lemon letter in to Hyundai on Monday.
Then this Friday, yep, you guessed it, stalled out again. The plus side of this, if there is a plus side, is I am getting very good at coasting on the interstate. This time I had to cross three lanes of traffic while stalled. I took it in to the dealer and they puttered around with it all day and called Hyundai's central tech people. And did nothing. I also called Hyundai's consumer center to tell them they might want to hurry along that lemon stuff since my car is a DEATH TRAP.
I'll find out more about this lemon stuff early next week, hopefully.
In happier news, my new Sony Psyc over-ear headphones that I got from Target are working out quite nicely. The iPod also is working out nicely. I watched an episode of Prison Break while I was waiting for them to fix the crankshaft sensor and I felt like I was too cool for the Superior Hyundai waiting room. Hee.
I have some issues with iTunes, though. I have always thought that the idea behind syncing a device with your computer is so that all of the settings and files match up. iTunes, though, thinks that syncing means you dump all the new shit on the device, without clearing out anything that's been deleted from iTunes. As a result, my iPod is already starting to get bloated. I know you can delete songs manually, but that would take eons.
Also, I have realized that my My Music folder has become bloated itself, with crappy songs, and crappily labeled songs, and duplicates of both crappy songs and crappily labeled songs. I'm not quite sure how that happened. So now I'm trying to go through and clean it out, which sucks on about five different levels. But then once everything is nice and clean, I'll reformat the iPod and start again, with all the crap gone.
Tuesday two weeks ago, the car stalled on the interstate again. I pulled over to the side of the road and was able to start after 10-15 minutes, and took it in to Hyundai the next day, where they replaced the crankshaft sensor AGAIN.
I sent a lemon letter in to Hyundai on Monday.
Then this Friday, yep, you guessed it, stalled out again. The plus side of this, if there is a plus side, is I am getting very good at coasting on the interstate. This time I had to cross three lanes of traffic while stalled. I took it in to the dealer and they puttered around with it all day and called Hyundai's central tech people. And did nothing. I also called Hyundai's consumer center to tell them they might want to hurry along that lemon stuff since my car is a DEATH TRAP.
I'll find out more about this lemon stuff early next week, hopefully.
In happier news, my new Sony Psyc over-ear headphones that I got from Target are working out quite nicely. The iPod also is working out nicely. I watched an episode of Prison Break while I was waiting for them to fix the crankshaft sensor and I felt like I was too cool for the Superior Hyundai waiting room. Hee.
I have some issues with iTunes, though. I have always thought that the idea behind syncing a device with your computer is so that all of the settings and files match up. iTunes, though, thinks that syncing means you dump all the new shit on the device, without clearing out anything that's been deleted from iTunes. As a result, my iPod is already starting to get bloated. I know you can delete songs manually, but that would take eons.
Also, I have realized that my My Music folder has become bloated itself, with crappy songs, and crappily labeled songs, and duplicates of both crappy songs and crappily labeled songs. I'm not quite sure how that happened. So now I'm trying to go through and clean it out, which sucks on about five different levels. But then once everything is nice and clean, I'll reformat the iPod and start again, with all the crap gone.
12.31.2005
I believe in Santa Claus. He's called Amazon.com.
So I bought an iPod. A black video one. While it cost about four times more than my previous MP3 player, it is about three times smaller and holds about 60 times the audio. And it plays video! (a feature I find endlessly cool but may not ever actually use...).
So far, it has come as expected in its tinyness and ability to hold all of my music with room to spare (although I really need to prune the collection...how did some of this crap end up on my computer?). However, I've had some issues in my brief iPod ownership period.
Most notably...all of the accessories for my BLACK iPod are WHITE. The hell? Apple, you can make the expensive main unit black, but you can't be bothered to come up with black earphones? I don't WANT to look like one of your grooving commercial people. If I wanted that I would have bought the white one. And now what I will look like is a dork wearing white after Labor Day.
At least I will the whole three days until I go out and buy new headphones, because these things are uncomfortable and have ZILCH bass.
Also, about the headphones. I know the iPod came in a shockingly small box and that was kind of scary but also cool. But seriously, they could have made the box two microns larger and PUT THE FOAM ON THE EARPLUGS. Did they think I needed something to occupy myself the whole three hours while the iPod charged? Especially since the whole smallness of the box is ruined when Amazon.com puts it in their stock box with a bunch of plastic air bags where there is plenty of room to spare.
My only other issue with the iPod...why make the damn thing so small if it's still scratchable? Like, why not make it the old size (I was kind of shocked by how tiny it was) and cover it with some teflon or something? This morning I put it in a case that nearly doubles its size, where it will live permanently (or until I find a case I like better), and while it's still small, I kind of wonder why have this tiny pretty device just to put it in a big case. I mean, it doesn't even look like an iPod!
Oh wait, I get it. That's what the white headphones are for.
So far, it has come as expected in its tinyness and ability to hold all of my music with room to spare (although I really need to prune the collection...how did some of this crap end up on my computer?). However, I've had some issues in my brief iPod ownership period.
Most notably...all of the accessories for my BLACK iPod are WHITE. The hell? Apple, you can make the expensive main unit black, but you can't be bothered to come up with black earphones? I don't WANT to look like one of your grooving commercial people. If I wanted that I would have bought the white one. And now what I will look like is a dork wearing white after Labor Day.
At least I will the whole three days until I go out and buy new headphones, because these things are uncomfortable and have ZILCH bass.
Also, about the headphones. I know the iPod came in a shockingly small box and that was kind of scary but also cool. But seriously, they could have made the box two microns larger and PUT THE FOAM ON THE EARPLUGS. Did they think I needed something to occupy myself the whole three hours while the iPod charged? Especially since the whole smallness of the box is ruined when Amazon.com puts it in their stock box with a bunch of plastic air bags where there is plenty of room to spare.
My only other issue with the iPod...why make the damn thing so small if it's still scratchable? Like, why not make it the old size (I was kind of shocked by how tiny it was) and cover it with some teflon or something? This morning I put it in a case that nearly doubles its size, where it will live permanently (or until I find a case I like better), and while it's still small, I kind of wonder why have this tiny pretty device just to put it in a big case. I mean, it doesn't even look like an iPod!
Oh wait, I get it. That's what the white headphones are for.
wish i was there
So it has occurred to me that the reason for my many-month absence from blogging here is that I had promised to post more vacation pics. But like the lazy slacker that I am, I had not formatted and cropped the second batch of vacation pics. And somehow, I couldn't return to blogging until the vacation pics were posted.
So finally I did. And here are vacation pics, so I can get to blogging about my shiny new iPod, which is what I really want to do. Plus, when are pictures of sunny locales better than in the middle of dreary Ohio winter? Yeah, that's what I thought.
The pool area of the ship.
One of the decks, and also where we would get on the lifeboats if the ship were to, say, hit an iceberg.
The other pool. This one was under a retractable roof. Some sun got through but I liked it much better than frying on the deck. It was also adults-only, which means no belly-flop contests and other such hijinks.
The observation tower-lounge thingy on the ship.
What would a bunch of pictures from a cruise be without one of FOOD? This was from the Grand Buffet.
Space shuttle replica at Cape Canaveral.
Back end of large rocket type thing.
From the rocket garden (I think it has a more official name but I can't remember).
Key West, you are so warm and pretty and full of shopping. Do you need any more online people? Do you?
The place is seriously so damn cute.
Doggy!
The famous La Concha hotel.
Sloppy Joe's. We stopped there for drinks after shopping. Along with every other tourist in Key West. Still, it was nice.
A worthy slogan.
The area we went shopping at Grand Bahama Island.
More of the shopping center. What you can't really get from the picture is that we were FRYING HOT at about this point.
From the boat we took to get to the shopping.
A very untropical picture. This was as we were leaving the port of Baltimore. It really looked like the top of the ship was going to hit the bridge. People were all ducking. It was fun and hilarious.
So finally I did. And here are vacation pics, so I can get to blogging about my shiny new iPod, which is what I really want to do. Plus, when are pictures of sunny locales better than in the middle of dreary Ohio winter? Yeah, that's what I thought.
The pool area of the ship.
One of the decks, and also where we would get on the lifeboats if the ship were to, say, hit an iceberg.
The other pool. This one was under a retractable roof. Some sun got through but I liked it much better than frying on the deck. It was also adults-only, which means no belly-flop contests and other such hijinks.
The observation tower-lounge thingy on the ship.
What would a bunch of pictures from a cruise be without one of FOOD? This was from the Grand Buffet.
Space shuttle replica at Cape Canaveral.
Back end of large rocket type thing.
From the rocket garden (I think it has a more official name but I can't remember).
Key West, you are so warm and pretty and full of shopping. Do you need any more online people? Do you?
The place is seriously so damn cute.
Doggy!
The famous La Concha hotel.
Sloppy Joe's. We stopped there for drinks after shopping. Along with every other tourist in Key West. Still, it was nice.
A worthy slogan.
The area we went shopping at Grand Bahama Island.
More of the shopping center. What you can't really get from the picture is that we were FRYING HOT at about this point.
From the boat we took to get to the shopping.
A very untropical picture. This was as we were leaving the port of Baltimore. It really looked like the top of the ship was going to hit the bridge. People were all ducking. It was fun and hilarious.
8.07.2005
whee, vacation
Vacation was lots of fun. We were on a 9-day cruise out of Baltimore to Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island, then CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas (beach day), Key West, Cozumel (we went on to Cancun via bus) and Port Canaveral.
I've been to Key West once before and it was one of my favorite ports then. Still is. The shopping is unique...yeah, there are a lot of t-shirt shops (more, even, than Columbia, Mizzou folks...), but there are also lots of stores with unique stuff, not the same old touristy trinkety stuff you see on many of the other islands. My only regret was that we weren't there very long. That would be a good port for an 11 p.m. or midnight departure, to give you plenty of time to drink up at one of the open-air bars (we went to Sloppy Joe's for a beer at the end of our afternoon, but I think they'd all be more fun at night).
Here are some pics. I'll try to post more as I get them formatted.
CocoCay, in the Bahamas. You can see the ship in the background.
More CocoCay. We were worried about Franklin (I guess it was a tropical storm? It was when we left) being a problem, since it was headed for the Bahamas when we left. But the weather was great almost the entire trip. We did get a little downpour in CocoCay, but it was actually nice because it cooled things off.
One of the places we went shopping in Cancun. It was freaking HOT and most of the stores except the jewelry stores don't have air conditioning. We did a lot of aimless jewelry shopping, although my sister did eventually find a necklace.
More Cancun. It sort of reminded me of a mini Las Vegas, with resort after resort after resort down the main strip.
Main difference? A beach. This one was beside the restaurant we ate at. That was my favorite part of Cancun, mostly beacause although the restaurant was open-air, there was a nice breeze coming in off the water which made it easy to cool down and kick back.
More Cancun beach. I think we all agreed that if we could do it again we would shop less and bring things for the beach.
The beach at Playa del Carmen. We had to take a boat to Playa del Carmen, on the mainland, from the island of Cozumel. From there we boarded the bus to take us to Cancun. You can see some of the hurricane damage in the thatched roofs here. There was a lot of vegetation damage, and some more-rickety buildings had fallen over, but they largely escaped major damage. It was weird...you could see that the leaves on the palm trees had been permenantly blown inland.
Cozumel, near the cruise ship dock. We've been to Cozumel twice but never actually made the downtown area, which would be forward on the left-hand side of this picture.
I've been to Key West once before and it was one of my favorite ports then. Still is. The shopping is unique...yeah, there are a lot of t-shirt shops (more, even, than Columbia, Mizzou folks...), but there are also lots of stores with unique stuff, not the same old touristy trinkety stuff you see on many of the other islands. My only regret was that we weren't there very long. That would be a good port for an 11 p.m. or midnight departure, to give you plenty of time to drink up at one of the open-air bars (we went to Sloppy Joe's for a beer at the end of our afternoon, but I think they'd all be more fun at night).
Here are some pics. I'll try to post more as I get them formatted.
CocoCay, in the Bahamas. You can see the ship in the background.
More CocoCay. We were worried about Franklin (I guess it was a tropical storm? It was when we left) being a problem, since it was headed for the Bahamas when we left. But the weather was great almost the entire trip. We did get a little downpour in CocoCay, but it was actually nice because it cooled things off.
One of the places we went shopping in Cancun. It was freaking HOT and most of the stores except the jewelry stores don't have air conditioning. We did a lot of aimless jewelry shopping, although my sister did eventually find a necklace.
More Cancun. It sort of reminded me of a mini Las Vegas, with resort after resort after resort down the main strip.
Main difference? A beach. This one was beside the restaurant we ate at. That was my favorite part of Cancun, mostly beacause although the restaurant was open-air, there was a nice breeze coming in off the water which made it easy to cool down and kick back.
More Cancun beach. I think we all agreed that if we could do it again we would shop less and bring things for the beach.
The beach at Playa del Carmen. We had to take a boat to Playa del Carmen, on the mainland, from the island of Cozumel. From there we boarded the bus to take us to Cancun. You can see some of the hurricane damage in the thatched roofs here. There was a lot of vegetation damage, and some more-rickety buildings had fallen over, but they largely escaped major damage. It was weird...you could see that the leaves on the palm trees had been permenantly blown inland.
Cozumel, near the cruise ship dock. We've been to Cozumel twice but never actually made the downtown area, which would be forward on the left-hand side of this picture.
quick gripe
Long delayed vacation post shortly. I've finally got some pics scanned and formatted. I have to gripe, first, though.
On my way downtown last night, I passed a disabled car on the off ramp from I-71 to I-71/75, just before the tunnel. The guy had his trunk open, I guess to get his spare. It was a bad place to be, especially in the dark, so I called *DUI, as I have in the past, to report him.
I know it sounds weird to call *DUI for a disabled motorist, but that and the other 1-800 numbers (grab dui and one for the patrol) all go to the State Highway Patrol. I know this because the first time I called was when I passed a mattress in the middle of 71 in Columbus. I couldn't remember the highway patrol number so I called grab dui because, dude, mattress.
So anyway, I called *DUI, and explained the situation, and the woman got all snippy with me. She was all, why did you call this? I'm like, uh, because it all goes to the highway patrol and *DUI is easier to dial on a cell phone.
She's all, well, we're in Columbus, this isn't the right number, blah blah blah. I ran into something along these lines before calling about a disabled motorist...aparently this is Cincinnati's jurisdiction. But in that case, the guy was like, I'll contact Cincinnati Police, thanks.
Instead, she's all asking me why I called this number. Uh, I don't know. Maybe because the guy was broken down on an INTERSTATE HIGHWAY and you are the HIGHWAY PATROL. Yeesh. Am I supposd to program the number of every local police station into my phone just to try to help disabled motorists?
On my way downtown last night, I passed a disabled car on the off ramp from I-71 to I-71/75, just before the tunnel. The guy had his trunk open, I guess to get his spare. It was a bad place to be, especially in the dark, so I called *DUI, as I have in the past, to report him.
I know it sounds weird to call *DUI for a disabled motorist, but that and the other 1-800 numbers (grab dui and one for the patrol) all go to the State Highway Patrol. I know this because the first time I called was when I passed a mattress in the middle of 71 in Columbus. I couldn't remember the highway patrol number so I called grab dui because, dude, mattress.
So anyway, I called *DUI, and explained the situation, and the woman got all snippy with me. She was all, why did you call this? I'm like, uh, because it all goes to the highway patrol and *DUI is easier to dial on a cell phone.
She's all, well, we're in Columbus, this isn't the right number, blah blah blah. I ran into something along these lines before calling about a disabled motorist...aparently this is Cincinnati's jurisdiction. But in that case, the guy was like, I'll contact Cincinnati Police, thanks.
Instead, she's all asking me why I called this number. Uh, I don't know. Maybe because the guy was broken down on an INTERSTATE HIGHWAY and you are the HIGHWAY PATROL. Yeesh. Am I supposd to program the number of every local police station into my phone just to try to help disabled motorists?
7.11.2005
brunette
Whomever designed my nice shower curtain and deemed that hair dye should rinse out easily, after it's set and turned brown, I owe you.
Yes, there was a bit of a dye spray incident. Oops. Heh.
Yes, there was a bit of a dye spray incident. Oops. Heh.
7.09.2005
cruise musings
I am getting ready for vacation way early because it gives me something to look forward to. Also, because I am anal-retentive. So I've been planning what to pack, looking through the Royal Caribbean Web site, etc. Their FAQs are cracking me up, though. Like:
Can I store insulin in my stateroom?
You can store insulin in the mini bar, ice bucket, or kitchen of your stateroom.
Um, I'm not diabetic, but it just seems like a BAD IDEA to me to store insulin that you're relying on to LIVE in an ice bucket.
Do your staterooms have soap, shampoo, and conditioner?
Like a fine hotel, all of our staterooms provide soap, shampoo and conditioner.
I'm so glad, because crappy hotels don't have soap. Maybe they meant fine soap, shampoo and conditioner. I'm expecting L'Occitane now, people. Shea butter, hell yeah.
Can cribs/rollaways be provided in my stateroom?
Royal Caribbean provides Pack and Play's for use onboard. Pack and Play's are similar to a playpen. Cribs are no longer provided.
Suck it up, kid. It's not like you needed a mattress or anything.
Can Passage or a Booking Request Be Refused?
...In addition, a guest may be removed from the vessel where, in the opinion of the ship's captain, a guest is unfit for travel or a risk or danger to himself or herself or a disturbance or danger to others...
Do they make people walk the plank? Because that would be AWESOME.
Do you offer Special Occasion Cakes?
Royal Caribbean offers Birthday, Anniversary and Special Occasion Cakes fleet wide for a nominal fee of $7.95 USD.
This isn't really funny, but I would just like to point out that you should NEVER PAY FOR EXTRA FOOD on a cruise. What you will have is a repeat of my family's SS Norway experience, where my dad got an anniversary cake for my parents, which was sweet, yes. But then every night we would come back from dinner all stuffed, and they would be all, "we should have some cake." But it was that, "we should paint the house this year" tone. And then we'd be all, "arrrrrrghhhhh, bluuuuugh, guuuuurgle, noooooo caaaaaaaake."
Can I store insulin in my stateroom?
You can store insulin in the mini bar, ice bucket, or kitchen of your stateroom.
Um, I'm not diabetic, but it just seems like a BAD IDEA to me to store insulin that you're relying on to LIVE in an ice bucket.
Do your staterooms have soap, shampoo, and conditioner?
Like a fine hotel, all of our staterooms provide soap, shampoo and conditioner.
I'm so glad, because crappy hotels don't have soap. Maybe they meant fine soap, shampoo and conditioner. I'm expecting L'Occitane now, people. Shea butter, hell yeah.
Can cribs/rollaways be provided in my stateroom?
Royal Caribbean provides Pack and Play's for use onboard. Pack and Play's are similar to a playpen. Cribs are no longer provided.
Suck it up, kid. It's not like you needed a mattress or anything.
Can Passage or a Booking Request Be Refused?
...In addition, a guest may be removed from the vessel where, in the opinion of the ship's captain, a guest is unfit for travel or a risk or danger to himself or herself or a disturbance or danger to others...
Do they make people walk the plank? Because that would be AWESOME.
Do you offer Special Occasion Cakes?
Royal Caribbean offers Birthday, Anniversary and Special Occasion Cakes fleet wide for a nominal fee of $7.95 USD.
This isn't really funny, but I would just like to point out that you should NEVER PAY FOR EXTRA FOOD on a cruise. What you will have is a repeat of my family's SS Norway experience, where my dad got an anniversary cake for my parents, which was sweet, yes. But then every night we would come back from dinner all stuffed, and they would be all, "we should have some cake." But it was that, "we should paint the house this year" tone. And then we'd be all, "arrrrrrghhhhh, bluuuuugh, guuuuurgle, noooooo caaaaaaaake."
6.28.2005
because Kelly said I had to update
Also, I really needed to update. Don't go getting a complex, Kelly. Hee.
Tops on my list of miscellaneous things to blog about was the suddenly annoying presence of the bed in my spare bedroom/office type room. It really wasn't annoying until I got the file cabinet and realized it wasn't going to fit where I had wanted it to (behind the desk).
There' s just not enough room in this room anymore. And the bed gets used maybe five times a year. That seems like an awful lot of real estate to give to something that isn't used very often. Plus the bed is like a zillion years old. It's sort of swaybacked, actually.
So I've been giving a lot of thought to just ditching it. Like, literally sticking it by the dumpster out back. Because, two words, people: dust mites. I probably should ditch it, just for allergies' sake. Unless there's somewhere I can donate a used old bed. Anyone know of anywhere?
And now the reason I really want to get rid of the bed: The Gatsby chair. Was there ever a better chair for a library ever made? Because dude, if I got rid of the bed, I could totally have a little library in here. A couple more shelves in a box (yes, yes, I know), the chair, maybe the ottoman, and the file cabinet near the desk, where it should go. It would ROCK.
So this is the current debate 'o Carrie. Fortunately, it can wait until the end of summer, as a library is more of a autumn/winter place, especially with a leather chair. It also must wait until my parents would come down with their SUV, unless World Market delivers.
I should research such things.
Tops on my list of miscellaneous things to blog about was the suddenly annoying presence of the bed in my spare bedroom/office type room. It really wasn't annoying until I got the file cabinet and realized it wasn't going to fit where I had wanted it to (behind the desk).
There' s just not enough room in this room anymore. And the bed gets used maybe five times a year. That seems like an awful lot of real estate to give to something that isn't used very often. Plus the bed is like a zillion years old. It's sort of swaybacked, actually.
So I've been giving a lot of thought to just ditching it. Like, literally sticking it by the dumpster out back. Because, two words, people: dust mites. I probably should ditch it, just for allergies' sake. Unless there's somewhere I can donate a used old bed. Anyone know of anywhere?
And now the reason I really want to get rid of the bed: The Gatsby chair. Was there ever a better chair for a library ever made? Because dude, if I got rid of the bed, I could totally have a little library in here. A couple more shelves in a box (yes, yes, I know), the chair, maybe the ottoman, and the file cabinet near the desk, where it should go. It would ROCK.
So this is the current debate 'o Carrie. Fortunately, it can wait until the end of summer, as a library is more of a autumn/winter place, especially with a leather chair. It also must wait until my parents would come down with their SUV, unless World Market delivers.
I should research such things.
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