Sunday, May 30, 2004
MY PICS!!!!
If anyone still looks at this site (which I highly doubt, since I don't actually update anymore -- no longer on vacation...), and is interested in seeing one of my sucessful pics from NYC, go to Matt's site (my guitar & photography teacher), and look at his May 29, 2004 post =D
JCL 12:40am
If anyone still looks at this site (which I highly doubt, since I don't actually update anymore -- no longer on vacation...), and is interested in seeing one of my sucessful pics from NYC, go to Matt's site (my guitar & photography teacher), and look at his May 29, 2004 post =D
JCL 12:40am
Monday, May 24, 2004
Closure
I've been harassed by the little one to finish this blog. In order to keep my sanity, I will attempt to give her the closure she desires.
Weekend with Ina was a lot of fun, and extremely tiring. Saturday was NYC all day. We went everywhere, essentially did the super-packed-one-day-entire-city tour.
Trained into Grand Central. Metroed to Central Park, FAO Schwartz (closed for renovations, pic with the big bear anyway), Rockefellar, window shopping and everything in between. Metroed to the East Village, ate lunch there at Pangea (pretty nice, off the main tourist path restaurant). Metroed to Chinatown (bbt at Ten Ren's, Ina got her dose of chinese people), walked to City Hall via a playground with lots of chinese kids and a "baseball diamond" made of the same material as a tennis court, even the outfield! Swung in and out of Strawberry cause they didn't have air con so it was really stuffy.
Metroed to Ground Zero. Spent a lot of time looking at the huge gaping hole, and the few remaining structures that were still standing but heavily damaged. Kinda hit home that it really happened, it was real people, and that most of the locals in NYC, at least Manhattan, knew at least one person who was in the building/died in the building. I remember I was in class (4B) when we heard about it, and we all thought it was a hoax, some crazy American news thing that didn't make any sense. Then we saw the footage. It was weird, a kinda empty "woah" feeling.
It wasn't the gaping hole that moved me. It was looking at the buildings that were next to the World Trade Centre. Seeing the extent to which they were damaged, knowing that the only reason the buildings were still around were because they were the *least* damaged, and structurally could still stand, even though no one could use the building. Seeing the fire station that is literally *right* across the street from the WTC, seeing the damage to their entrance, seeing the memorials to the fire fighters from their station who died. And having Ina point out to me where the Deloitte NYC office was located -- just on the other side of the street. Scary when it's framed in a way that makes this "American" newscast feel a lot closer to home.
Walked around to the other side of WTC, inside the Deloitte building, tooks pics from that angle too, wandered out to the waterfront, strolled along the "boardwalk", sat down and gazed into the water, at Staten Island, at New Jersey across the Hudson River, walked back to Ground Zero, I read all the signs that were posted, and the little makeshift "monument" of notes and pics from people all over the country. Went to Century 21. It's a HUGE discount store. I was "finished" within 10 minutes. Ina, of course, has much more stamina than I do =D
Metroed and bussed to B&H (past Madison Square Gardens), just to remember that the store is owned by Jewish people, and Sat is the Sabbath, so OF COURSE the store would be closed. Duh. Walked up 9th Ave, which was closed for a street fair, so we got hungrier with every step we walked. Got to the BBQ restaurant we were going to eat at (can't remember the name, it's near Times Square), but the line up was unbelievably long, so we walked to another restaurant (can't remember the name either, some french restaurant I think?). Ate and rested our feet. Much needed break, we had been walking non-stop pretty much all day. Walked back to Times Square, rode the ferris wheel in Toys R Us (yeah!!!), went back outside to take the required tourist pics of Times Square. Stood there and couldn't figure out what I was supposed to take a pic of, since there really isn't a sign that says "You are at Times Square". So took pics of the HUGE cup of instant noodles, and the really really REALLY tacky neon red Ernst & Young sign. I had no idea the EY NYC office was right in Times Square.
Metroed back to Grand Central. Trained back to Stamford. Fell asleep on the train. Both of us. We were so dead tired. Got off the train in time. Circled around the parking lot for a LONG time, trying to find the exit cause they closed the main exit, they don't have automated parking, and you can't get out the monthly pass exit without having a monthly pass. Finally some security guy in a pickup truck saw the line of cars going around in circles, and directed us all to the obscure exit on the other side of the building. Sigh.
Got home, zonked out pretty much after that.
Church the next morning. Went out for breakfast first, at Lakeside Diner, was really nice & homey, breakfast like Mel's Diner. Church was joint service. Experienced the world's fastest rendition of the doxology =) It was SO hard not to laugh, the pianist played the song SOOO fast! Ina later informed me that was the regular speed =) As expected, avoided the gaze of the chairman, when he asked if there were any visitors this week. I hate introducing myself at a strange church. Stayed for sunday school, and lunch at church. Yummy $3 chinese food =)
Went home, changed, walked to Starbucks and the mall near Ina's place. Yes, she lives within walking distance to a pretty nice mall. Did the Bath & Body Works run for Rosie and Linda. You would think after being in the US for 1.5 weeks, those two would have bought every single B&BW product they wanted! Nope, there was more they wanted =) You guys should ask Rosie how many times she went to a B&BW store while we were on vacation!
Walked back home, drove out to go shopping, at a store that cannot be named, as per instructions from ILC =) Drove to Ina's office, laughed at the "classy" National DT office structure. Didn't get to go in cause Ina forgot her pass. On the way out I took pics of the wild turkeys that were wandering around her building. For real, she's not kidding when she says the area has a striking resemblance to the Blair Witch Project. Didn't manage to see any of the deer that are normally all around the building. Went for a scenic drive, and ended at Sushi dinner. Got home and vegged out, including watching the finale of Charmed. I haven't watch that show in such a long time, I didn't realise the character "Prue" had changed actresses!
Went to bed early. Got up at 3:45am to get to the airport for my flight home. On the flight home, we flew over Niagara Falls, which was pretty cool =) Got off the plane, picked up my car, and drove straight to work.
Was really good to see Ina again, and to get to hang out. She's home again this Friday, so for all who are up for it, we'll be at "her" bubbles place Friday night.
Little miss ex-manager, hope you have closure now =)
JCL 12:30am EST
I've been harassed by the little one to finish this blog. In order to keep my sanity, I will attempt to give her the closure she desires.
Weekend with Ina was a lot of fun, and extremely tiring. Saturday was NYC all day. We went everywhere, essentially did the super-packed-one-day-entire-city tour.
Trained into Grand Central. Metroed to Central Park, FAO Schwartz (closed for renovations, pic with the big bear anyway), Rockefellar, window shopping and everything in between. Metroed to the East Village, ate lunch there at Pangea (pretty nice, off the main tourist path restaurant). Metroed to Chinatown (bbt at Ten Ren's, Ina got her dose of chinese people), walked to City Hall via a playground with lots of chinese kids and a "baseball diamond" made of the same material as a tennis court, even the outfield! Swung in and out of Strawberry cause they didn't have air con so it was really stuffy.
Metroed to Ground Zero. Spent a lot of time looking at the huge gaping hole, and the few remaining structures that were still standing but heavily damaged. Kinda hit home that it really happened, it was real people, and that most of the locals in NYC, at least Manhattan, knew at least one person who was in the building/died in the building. I remember I was in class (4B) when we heard about it, and we all thought it was a hoax, some crazy American news thing that didn't make any sense. Then we saw the footage. It was weird, a kinda empty "woah" feeling.
It wasn't the gaping hole that moved me. It was looking at the buildings that were next to the World Trade Centre. Seeing the extent to which they were damaged, knowing that the only reason the buildings were still around were because they were the *least* damaged, and structurally could still stand, even though no one could use the building. Seeing the fire station that is literally *right* across the street from the WTC, seeing the damage to their entrance, seeing the memorials to the fire fighters from their station who died. And having Ina point out to me where the Deloitte NYC office was located -- just on the other side of the street. Scary when it's framed in a way that makes this "American" newscast feel a lot closer to home.
Walked around to the other side of WTC, inside the Deloitte building, tooks pics from that angle too, wandered out to the waterfront, strolled along the "boardwalk", sat down and gazed into the water, at Staten Island, at New Jersey across the Hudson River, walked back to Ground Zero, I read all the signs that were posted, and the little makeshift "monument" of notes and pics from people all over the country. Went to Century 21. It's a HUGE discount store. I was "finished" within 10 minutes. Ina, of course, has much more stamina than I do =D
Metroed and bussed to B&H (past Madison Square Gardens), just to remember that the store is owned by Jewish people, and Sat is the Sabbath, so OF COURSE the store would be closed. Duh. Walked up 9th Ave, which was closed for a street fair, so we got hungrier with every step we walked. Got to the BBQ restaurant we were going to eat at (can't remember the name, it's near Times Square), but the line up was unbelievably long, so we walked to another restaurant (can't remember the name either, some french restaurant I think?). Ate and rested our feet. Much needed break, we had been walking non-stop pretty much all day. Walked back to Times Square, rode the ferris wheel in Toys R Us (yeah!!!), went back outside to take the required tourist pics of Times Square. Stood there and couldn't figure out what I was supposed to take a pic of, since there really isn't a sign that says "You are at Times Square". So took pics of the HUGE cup of instant noodles, and the really really REALLY tacky neon red Ernst & Young sign. I had no idea the EY NYC office was right in Times Square.
Metroed back to Grand Central. Trained back to Stamford. Fell asleep on the train. Both of us. We were so dead tired. Got off the train in time. Circled around the parking lot for a LONG time, trying to find the exit cause they closed the main exit, they don't have automated parking, and you can't get out the monthly pass exit without having a monthly pass. Finally some security guy in a pickup truck saw the line of cars going around in circles, and directed us all to the obscure exit on the other side of the building. Sigh.
Got home, zonked out pretty much after that.
Church the next morning. Went out for breakfast first, at Lakeside Diner, was really nice & homey, breakfast like Mel's Diner. Church was joint service. Experienced the world's fastest rendition of the doxology =) It was SO hard not to laugh, the pianist played the song SOOO fast! Ina later informed me that was the regular speed =) As expected, avoided the gaze of the chairman, when he asked if there were any visitors this week. I hate introducing myself at a strange church. Stayed for sunday school, and lunch at church. Yummy $3 chinese food =)
Went home, changed, walked to Starbucks and the mall near Ina's place. Yes, she lives within walking distance to a pretty nice mall. Did the Bath & Body Works run for Rosie and Linda. You would think after being in the US for 1.5 weeks, those two would have bought every single B&BW product they wanted! Nope, there was more they wanted =) You guys should ask Rosie how many times she went to a B&BW store while we were on vacation!
Walked back home, drove out to go shopping, at a store that cannot be named, as per instructions from ILC =) Drove to Ina's office, laughed at the "classy" National DT office structure. Didn't get to go in cause Ina forgot her pass. On the way out I took pics of the wild turkeys that were wandering around her building. For real, she's not kidding when she says the area has a striking resemblance to the Blair Witch Project. Didn't manage to see any of the deer that are normally all around the building. Went for a scenic drive, and ended at Sushi dinner. Got home and vegged out, including watching the finale of Charmed. I haven't watch that show in such a long time, I didn't realise the character "Prue" had changed actresses!
Went to bed early. Got up at 3:45am to get to the airport for my flight home. On the flight home, we flew over Niagara Falls, which was pretty cool =) Got off the plane, picked up my car, and drove straight to work.
Was really good to see Ina again, and to get to hang out. She's home again this Friday, so for all who are up for it, we'll be at "her" bubbles place Friday night.
Little miss ex-manager, hope you have closure now =)
JCL 12:30am EST
Friday, May 14, 2004
Why am I still blogging?
Some of you had asked, and I had responded that I would not be blogging about spending the weekend in Stamford/NYC with Ina. So why am I blogging now? Cause I'm still at the airport. We are delayed. Apparently the crew for our flight is coming in from Sudbury, and that flight was delayed. So we have to wait til they land, clear US customs, and get all the way over to Gate E, which is the satelite terminal, meaning you take a bus on the tarmac from the main Terminal 2, all they way to the far east end of the airport, right next to the 427. Of course, that means we are flying in a dinky little propellor plane that will be extremely noisy, much like my flights to Detroit. Considering the flight to Westchester is only 2 hours long, it's expected that I'd be on a propellor plane. Though I must say, I still get amused that I get to walk up the airplane stairs from the tarmac to get on the plane. I feel almost like a queen.
Had an amusing adventure getting through US customs and security. First off, I can't find a pen that works. I always have a pen on me, in my knapsack or purse. Problem is, the pen that was in my knapsack has prolly been there since I graduated from Loo, and I don't have a purse this time cause I brought along my dad's old Minolta SLR, so the camera bag is doubled as my purse. So no functioning pen for me.
US customs makes you fill out this blue form. I'm used to filling it out by now, but for destination, I usually just list the city and state, and the name of the hotel (aside: for Chickvegas, our flight was to Vegas, even though our real destination on the way down was San Diego. To avoid problems, I just listed destination as Tropicana Hotel, in Vegas. I had no clue what Karen's addy was.) Problem is, I'm not staying at a hotel. I'm staying at Ina's. So whatever, I leave it blank and go see the customs guy. Either he's not having a good day, or he just doesn't like me. He asks me a million things, including occupation and employer, even though I'm not going for business. Asks other things like what's my citizenship (while looking at my passport.. in case I forget, I suppose...), and when I'm coming back. Then he asks me the street address. I tell him I don't know, my friend is picking me up. Is your friend male or female. A girl. Is she American or Canadian. I think she's still Canadian. Do you have a cell phone. Yes. Go over there behind the red line and call your friend for the street address. Come back and tell me the street address. So I go and do as I'm told (Ina now you know why I called). All done, go back to the guy, he asks me if I filled it out, I say no can I borrow your pen =) I must have made his list of most annoying and difficult people who are a far cry from being a threat to US homeland security.
On to security check. Remember I have my dad's camera? I also have high speed film (1250) courtesy of my new camera teacher. Being bored while waiting for the Park N Fly bus to come pick me up, I had loaded the camera and took some shots. I had no idea that cameras are required to be put through the xray machine, even though they are willing to hand check your film. But, since my teacher has incredible foresight, I knew how to rewind the film to take it out of the camera before placing the camera in the xray machine.
They hand checked the film, and then at the other side of the xray machine, the security guy asks to check my camera bag. I don't really care, esp since I'm trying to stuff my laptop back into my knapsack at that point. Then I notice what he's doing. He's checking out my camera! This isn't a security check, this is some guy who works for security and gets a kick out of cameras! He was peering into the camera, playing with the focus, checking out the specs. Then puts it all away, and asks me whether the lens is any good (prolly cause it's a minolta and not a canon or nikon). Me, being the idiot that before yesterday didn't know how to load film, replied, "It's ok".
No, he didn't look at anything else in my camera bag, just the camera. I wonder if he does this to everyone who bring a non-idiot (idiot refering to point-and-shoot) camera.
I get on the bus and arrive at Gate E. I find me a seat, and read the newspaper. I'm bored. But I can't fall asleep, cause there's too many people around, and I want to keep an eye on my baggage (all carry on). Eventually I get hungry, and check out the one "restaurant" in the satelite terminal. It's more like a Second Cup that serves alcohol, and has some food with meat in it, along with the typical array of muffins and brownies. I don't like sandwiches so I check out the chicken salad wrap. $7.25 not including taxes. Insane. And it's tiny!! Hotdogs were $4.05. Soup was the only reasonable thing at $3.00, but of course, they were out of soup. So, no food for me. Go back to my seat and wait for our crew to arrive so we can take off.
Finally get on the plane (I'm on the plane right now). As I suspected, this plane is much like my Detroit plane. Eight rows, seats four across, two on each side of the aisle. Thirty-two passengers. Two pilots as is standard. Cabin crew is one person. One lonely guy who has to take care of the entire plane. Of course, there are only about 10 of us on the plane anyway. He offers all-you-can-eat airplane snacks. I snack a bit, but I'm waiting for my yummy meal that has been promised to me once I land.
I don't intend on blogging again for this weekend, and since I don't have a digicam, no pics either. But who knows, maybe I'll have problems at Westchester on the flight home. I might end up blogging then too, if I'm sufficiently bored.
Time to nap, the flight is already half over.
JCL 9pm EST
Time Warp!: Thank goodness Stamford & NYC are in the same time zone as TO =D
Some of you had asked, and I had responded that I would not be blogging about spending the weekend in Stamford/NYC with Ina. So why am I blogging now? Cause I'm still at the airport. We are delayed. Apparently the crew for our flight is coming in from Sudbury, and that flight was delayed. So we have to wait til they land, clear US customs, and get all the way over to Gate E, which is the satelite terminal, meaning you take a bus on the tarmac from the main Terminal 2, all they way to the far east end of the airport, right next to the 427. Of course, that means we are flying in a dinky little propellor plane that will be extremely noisy, much like my flights to Detroit. Considering the flight to Westchester is only 2 hours long, it's expected that I'd be on a propellor plane. Though I must say, I still get amused that I get to walk up the airplane stairs from the tarmac to get on the plane. I feel almost like a queen.
Had an amusing adventure getting through US customs and security. First off, I can't find a pen that works. I always have a pen on me, in my knapsack or purse. Problem is, the pen that was in my knapsack has prolly been there since I graduated from Loo, and I don't have a purse this time cause I brought along my dad's old Minolta SLR, so the camera bag is doubled as my purse. So no functioning pen for me.
US customs makes you fill out this blue form. I'm used to filling it out by now, but for destination, I usually just list the city and state, and the name of the hotel (aside: for Chickvegas, our flight was to Vegas, even though our real destination on the way down was San Diego. To avoid problems, I just listed destination as Tropicana Hotel, in Vegas. I had no clue what Karen's addy was.) Problem is, I'm not staying at a hotel. I'm staying at Ina's. So whatever, I leave it blank and go see the customs guy. Either he's not having a good day, or he just doesn't like me. He asks me a million things, including occupation and employer, even though I'm not going for business. Asks other things like what's my citizenship (while looking at my passport.. in case I forget, I suppose...), and when I'm coming back. Then he asks me the street address. I tell him I don't know, my friend is picking me up. Is your friend male or female. A girl. Is she American or Canadian. I think she's still Canadian. Do you have a cell phone. Yes. Go over there behind the red line and call your friend for the street address. Come back and tell me the street address. So I go and do as I'm told (Ina now you know why I called). All done, go back to the guy, he asks me if I filled it out, I say no can I borrow your pen =) I must have made his list of most annoying and difficult people who are a far cry from being a threat to US homeland security.
On to security check. Remember I have my dad's camera? I also have high speed film (1250) courtesy of my new camera teacher. Being bored while waiting for the Park N Fly bus to come pick me up, I had loaded the camera and took some shots. I had no idea that cameras are required to be put through the xray machine, even though they are willing to hand check your film. But, since my teacher has incredible foresight, I knew how to rewind the film to take it out of the camera before placing the camera in the xray machine.
They hand checked the film, and then at the other side of the xray machine, the security guy asks to check my camera bag. I don't really care, esp since I'm trying to stuff my laptop back into my knapsack at that point. Then I notice what he's doing. He's checking out my camera! This isn't a security check, this is some guy who works for security and gets a kick out of cameras! He was peering into the camera, playing with the focus, checking out the specs. Then puts it all away, and asks me whether the lens is any good (prolly cause it's a minolta and not a canon or nikon). Me, being the idiot that before yesterday didn't know how to load film, replied, "It's ok".
No, he didn't look at anything else in my camera bag, just the camera. I wonder if he does this to everyone who bring a non-idiot (idiot refering to point-and-shoot) camera.
I get on the bus and arrive at Gate E. I find me a seat, and read the newspaper. I'm bored. But I can't fall asleep, cause there's too many people around, and I want to keep an eye on my baggage (all carry on). Eventually I get hungry, and check out the one "restaurant" in the satelite terminal. It's more like a Second Cup that serves alcohol, and has some food with meat in it, along with the typical array of muffins and brownies. I don't like sandwiches so I check out the chicken salad wrap. $7.25 not including taxes. Insane. And it's tiny!! Hotdogs were $4.05. Soup was the only reasonable thing at $3.00, but of course, they were out of soup. So, no food for me. Go back to my seat and wait for our crew to arrive so we can take off.
Finally get on the plane (I'm on the plane right now). As I suspected, this plane is much like my Detroit plane. Eight rows, seats four across, two on each side of the aisle. Thirty-two passengers. Two pilots as is standard. Cabin crew is one person. One lonely guy who has to take care of the entire plane. Of course, there are only about 10 of us on the plane anyway. He offers all-you-can-eat airplane snacks. I snack a bit, but I'm waiting for my yummy meal that has been promised to me once I land.
I don't intend on blogging again for this weekend, and since I don't have a digicam, no pics either. But who knows, maybe I'll have problems at Westchester on the flight home. I might end up blogging then too, if I'm sufficiently bored.
Time to nap, the flight is already half over.
JCL 9pm EST
Time Warp!: Thank goodness Stamford & NYC are in the same time zone as TO =D
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Final Pics & Stories
As promised, here are the remaining pics:
From Salsa night
Toes near Del Mar (Linda was taking a pic of our toes when Rosie took this shot)
and the beautiful palm trees (at La Jolla Cove)
Janey's Zoo (my head is too big, I barely fit in the masks!!)
Rosie & Linda & Elmo (it wasn't their head that was too big to fit! =D)
The Non-Ghetto Car!
In the Non-Ghetto Car
Time Warp!!
Cheesecake...
On the plane ride home
Larry & Reclaimed Water [story courtesy of Rosie]
In the Grand Canyon area, everything is about conserving nature – even the toilets. In our hotel room, the sign on the toilet lid specifically said – “Reclaimed water – avoid contact”. I don’t know what “reclaimed water” is but in the toilet context it can’t be good. Finding this hilarious, Rosie and Linda pointed the sign out to Vacation Larry, upon which Vacation Larry immediately ran and pretended to stick his head in the toilet so Linda could take a picture. Unfortunately Vacation Larry’s very expensive sunglasses fell into the reclaimed water toilet bowl in the process. So much for “avoiding contact”!
Here’s Larry enjoying the foliage irrigated with reclaimed water:
As promised, here are the remaining pics:
From Salsa night
Toes near Del Mar (Linda was taking a pic of our toes when Rosie took this shot)
and the beautiful palm trees (at La Jolla Cove)
Janey's Zoo (my head is too big, I barely fit in the masks!!)
Rosie & Linda & Elmo (it wasn't their head that was too big to fit! =D)
The Non-Ghetto Car!
In the Non-Ghetto Car
Time Warp!!
Cheesecake...
On the plane ride home
Larry & Reclaimed Water [story courtesy of Rosie]
In the Grand Canyon area, everything is about conserving nature – even the toilets. In our hotel room, the sign on the toilet lid specifically said – “Reclaimed water – avoid contact”. I don’t know what “reclaimed water” is but in the toilet context it can’t be good. Finding this hilarious, Rosie and Linda pointed the sign out to Vacation Larry, upon which Vacation Larry immediately ran and pretended to stick his head in the toilet so Linda could take a picture. Unfortunately Vacation Larry’s very expensive sunglasses fell into the reclaimed water toilet bowl in the process. So much for “avoiding contact”!
Here’s Larry enjoying the foliage irrigated with reclaimed water:
Saturday, May 08, 2004
Winding Down & Getting Sued
Thursday was the last day of our vacation. Linda was already at home, Larry spent all day in the poker room at the Monte Carlo. Rosie & I wandered the hotels of Vegas.
First stop was lunch at The Cheesecake Factory in Caesar's Palace. The cheesecake was SOOOOO yummy, I had the chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake. Rosie noticed that it has pretty much everything I liked, all in one cheesecake =)
[pic of cheese cake to be posted, once I get the rest of the pics from Rosie's camera]
We wandered around Caesar's Palace, and then ventured into the Venetian. Rosie and I enjoyed a relaxing day of looking at things we can't afford, and riding the gondola:
Then came a little fiasco. We were approached by people from "The Preview Studio" or something like that, to preview some shows, and fill out a survey (they are right in the Venetian). They asked a bunch of questions to make sure that we qualified, and then brought us upstairs. We filled out the questionnaire on the computer, and watched a horrible horrible pilot called "Amazing Births". This show was about different moms and the story of how they gave birth. It was incredibly painful to sit through the entire pilot, there was a lot of moms re-enacting the labour pains, and other distasteful details. Plus some of the "amazing" stories boiled down to stupidity (ie using a pocket knife to cut the umbilical cord), and lack of planning (ie mom lives on an island and needs to fly to the nearest hospital -- what if there's bad weather and planes can't fly?)
We sat through it all, and kept filling out the surveys. At the end, we all proceeded out of the room to be paid $10 USD for spending the time to complete their research. The guy in charge told Rosie and I that he could not pay us because we were Canadian, and the research was only for Americans.
We were ticked. Of all the questions they asked us for pre-screening purposes, no one ever mentioned the citizenship problem. Plus, we filled out that information on the survey at the BEGINNING of the session, before watching the pilot. If they knew they couldn't use the info, why didn't they come in and tell us right away, instead of obtaining all our data first, and wasting our time?
I voiced my discontent, and after much arguing, he told us he could give us a free T-shirt instead. Unhappy, but not sure what else we could do, we started looking at the ghetto tshirt selection.
Behind us in line was a woman obviously from New York City. The man told her that she had clicked "Canadian" on the survey, thus he also could not pay her. She was as ticked as an American woman from the Bronx could be. However, being American, she knew the four key words to getting what you want in the States: "I'm gonna sue you."
As soon as she said that, the man started to back down, to the point where he said fine, I'll pay you and the other two Canadians. He rambled some more about whatever, but I wasn't listening. I was just standing in his face, waiting for him to pay me.
Funny how litigious Americans are, but even more amusing is how you can use it to your advantage. If you're rightfully disgruntled, argue with them somewhat, then tell them you're going to sue them. You'll likely get what you want!
Regardless, I did request the phone number of their head office and will be calling to complain. So retarded that in the middle of Vegas, where there are tons and tons of tourists every day, they don't have a sign that says "American citizens only".
We met up with Larry in the poker room, and then wandered to Panda Express for dinner. Yes, on the last day of vacation, we had "no-msg" instant noodles in soup for dinner before getting on the plane.
Plane ride was short, only about 3 hours, Rosie had a row all to herself, I fell asleep on Larry's shoulder. Got home, and took a "nap" til 4:30pm! Was intending on going to work today, but it'll have to wait to Saturday.
[to be posted, pics from the plane, courtesy of Rosie]
Once I get the rest of the pics from Linda and Rosie, I'll post a bunch of the interesting pics that were missed along the way.
Bedtime now,
JCL 2am EST
Thursday was the last day of our vacation. Linda was already at home, Larry spent all day in the poker room at the Monte Carlo. Rosie & I wandered the hotels of Vegas.
First stop was lunch at The Cheesecake Factory in Caesar's Palace. The cheesecake was SOOOOO yummy, I had the chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake. Rosie noticed that it has pretty much everything I liked, all in one cheesecake =)
[pic of cheese cake to be posted, once I get the rest of the pics from Rosie's camera]
We wandered around Caesar's Palace, and then ventured into the Venetian. Rosie and I enjoyed a relaxing day of looking at things we can't afford, and riding the gondola:
Then came a little fiasco. We were approached by people from "The Preview Studio" or something like that, to preview some shows, and fill out a survey (they are right in the Venetian). They asked a bunch of questions to make sure that we qualified, and then brought us upstairs. We filled out the questionnaire on the computer, and watched a horrible horrible pilot called "Amazing Births". This show was about different moms and the story of how they gave birth. It was incredibly painful to sit through the entire pilot, there was a lot of moms re-enacting the labour pains, and other distasteful details. Plus some of the "amazing" stories boiled down to stupidity (ie using a pocket knife to cut the umbilical cord), and lack of planning (ie mom lives on an island and needs to fly to the nearest hospital -- what if there's bad weather and planes can't fly?)
We sat through it all, and kept filling out the surveys. At the end, we all proceeded out of the room to be paid $10 USD for spending the time to complete their research. The guy in charge told Rosie and I that he could not pay us because we were Canadian, and the research was only for Americans.
We were ticked. Of all the questions they asked us for pre-screening purposes, no one ever mentioned the citizenship problem. Plus, we filled out that information on the survey at the BEGINNING of the session, before watching the pilot. If they knew they couldn't use the info, why didn't they come in and tell us right away, instead of obtaining all our data first, and wasting our time?
I voiced my discontent, and after much arguing, he told us he could give us a free T-shirt instead. Unhappy, but not sure what else we could do, we started looking at the ghetto tshirt selection.
Behind us in line was a woman obviously from New York City. The man told her that she had clicked "Canadian" on the survey, thus he also could not pay her. She was as ticked as an American woman from the Bronx could be. However, being American, she knew the four key words to getting what you want in the States: "I'm gonna sue you."
As soon as she said that, the man started to back down, to the point where he said fine, I'll pay you and the other two Canadians. He rambled some more about whatever, but I wasn't listening. I was just standing in his face, waiting for him to pay me.
Funny how litigious Americans are, but even more amusing is how you can use it to your advantage. If you're rightfully disgruntled, argue with them somewhat, then tell them you're going to sue them. You'll likely get what you want!
Regardless, I did request the phone number of their head office and will be calling to complain. So retarded that in the middle of Vegas, where there are tons and tons of tourists every day, they don't have a sign that says "American citizens only".
We met up with Larry in the poker room, and then wandered to Panda Express for dinner. Yes, on the last day of vacation, we had "no-msg" instant noodles in soup for dinner before getting on the plane.
Plane ride was short, only about 3 hours, Rosie had a row all to herself, I fell asleep on Larry's shoulder. Got home, and took a "nap" til 4:30pm! Was intending on going to work today, but it'll have to wait to Saturday.
[to be posted, pics from the plane, courtesy of Rosie]
Once I get the rest of the pics from Linda and Rosie, I'll post a bunch of the interesting pics that were missed along the way.
Bedtime now,
JCL 2am EST
Friday, May 07, 2004
Sunrise, Neon Lights, and Blue Paint
We are home. Aladdin charged a ridiculous amount for internet, so here are the posts for the past two days.
Wednesday morning, I awoke to the sound of Rosie's voice exclaiming "Oh my goodness, it's 4:30 already!". Sunrise was set at 5:20am, and we were all still in bed. We seem to have developed a habit of chasing after the sun, be it for the sunset, or for the sunrise.
Nevertheless, we got there in time:
We stoped at the Hoover Dam on the way back to Vegas, and got to see the other side as well. Linda has some awesome pics of the time zone clocks (showing the SAME time), I'll have to post them once I get them from her! Time warp seems to be one of the themes of the trip...
Vegas has some beautiful hotels. It's all fake, just a facade, much like the buildings of the backlot at Universals. Too bad I can't go see the real thing.
For dinner, we went to the buffet at the Bellagio! SOOO yummy, for only $25 USD, I ate A LOT of Alaskan king crab legs! And the waiter was great, being chinese, I asked for tea (to help digest all the grease) and red vinegar (for the crab meat). He managed to get us green tea, and balsamic vinegar (close enough). I had prime rib too, so surf & turf rules once more =)
I watched the Blue Man Group, while Rosie and Lawrence watched O. Linda flew home =(
JCL 12:30am EST
We are home. Aladdin charged a ridiculous amount for internet, so here are the posts for the past two days.
Wednesday morning, I awoke to the sound of Rosie's voice exclaiming "Oh my goodness, it's 4:30 already!". Sunrise was set at 5:20am, and we were all still in bed. We seem to have developed a habit of chasing after the sun, be it for the sunset, or for the sunrise.
Nevertheless, we got there in time:
We stoped at the Hoover Dam on the way back to Vegas, and got to see the other side as well. Linda has some awesome pics of the time zone clocks (showing the SAME time), I'll have to post them once I get them from her! Time warp seems to be one of the themes of the trip...
Vegas has some beautiful hotels. It's all fake, just a facade, much like the buildings of the backlot at Universals. Too bad I can't go see the real thing.
For dinner, we went to the buffet at the Bellagio! SOOO yummy, for only $25 USD, I ate A LOT of Alaskan king crab legs! And the waiter was great, being chinese, I asked for tea (to help digest all the grease) and red vinegar (for the crab meat). He managed to get us green tea, and balsamic vinegar (close enough). I had prime rib too, so surf & turf rules once more =)
I watched the Blue Man Group, while Rosie and Lawrence watched O. Linda flew home =(
JCL 12:30am EST
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Grand Canyon
Awesome.
We all fell silent when we first laid our eyes on the Grand Canyon. The sight was breathless, and words cannot describe it. Pictures also cannot convey the scope of the Grand Canyon, as no film can capture what the eye can see.
We found an interesting tree and Larry got us to pose with the tree
We also found an awesome ledge to sit and take pics of
We walked around all day, and watched the sunset.
After dinner we went back to watch stars. There was a full moon out, that casted a dim glow over the canyon.
You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful for comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depth of your love?
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above
And I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you
I would have loved to have my guitar with me, to sing songs while watching stars and marvelling at the power of the moon to illuminate the canyon. Our God is an awesome God.
Time Warp...
Our time zone problems have been solved. Yes, we really are in MST, which is technically one hour faster than PST. HOWEVER, Arizona does NOT follow Daylight Savings Time, therefore right now, Arizona and California (and Nevada) all have the SAME time.
Sigh, that took forever to figure it out, we were getting SO confused...
Hoover Dam
We passed the Hoover Dam on the way to Grand Canyon from Vegas, and managed to get this shot of the "ugly" part of the dam. Hope to get a pic of the nicer side on the way home tomorrow.
Need to sleep, sunrise is at 5:20am tomorrow!
JCL 11:55pm PST & MST
Awesome.
We all fell silent when we first laid our eyes on the Grand Canyon. The sight was breathless, and words cannot describe it. Pictures also cannot convey the scope of the Grand Canyon, as no film can capture what the eye can see.
We found an interesting tree and Larry got us to pose with the tree
We also found an awesome ledge to sit and take pics of
We walked around all day, and watched the sunset.
After dinner we went back to watch stars. There was a full moon out, that casted a dim glow over the canyon.
You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful for comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depth of your love?
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above
And I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you
I would have loved to have my guitar with me, to sing songs while watching stars and marvelling at the power of the moon to illuminate the canyon. Our God is an awesome God.
Time Warp...
Our time zone problems have been solved. Yes, we really are in MST, which is technically one hour faster than PST. HOWEVER, Arizona does NOT follow Daylight Savings Time, therefore right now, Arizona and California (and Nevada) all have the SAME time.
Sigh, that took forever to figure it out, we were getting SO confused...
Hoover Dam
We passed the Hoover Dam on the way to Grand Canyon from Vegas, and managed to get this shot of the "ugly" part of the dam. Hope to get a pic of the nicer side on the way home tomorrow.
Need to sleep, sunrise is at 5:20am tomorrow!
JCL 11:55pm PST & MST
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Time Zones??
We are now at Grand Canyon, at the hotel. We have issues with time zones. We must be in a time warp, and are utterly confused. Can't figure out what time it's supposed to be, and whether the time zone has changed. What we think is right doesn't jive with what the clocks say. Aiya. Anyhow, more later, time to eat, and go see the big hole in the ground!
JCL 12:40pm PST
We are now at Grand Canyon, at the hotel. We have issues with time zones. We must be in a time warp, and are utterly confused. Can't figure out what time it's supposed to be, and whether the time zone has changed. What we think is right doesn't jive with what the clocks say. Aiya. Anyhow, more later, time to eat, and go see the big hole in the ground!
JCL 12:40pm PST
California
The past week has been an interesting week of "firsts"
1. Salsa dancing
2. Riding in a convertible with the top down (Karen's red mustang convertible!!)
3. Sailing
4. Attending a live punk rock band concert ("16 Hour Drive", the night at Mission Beach, after sailing, http://16hourdrive.com/)
5. Going to a casino on a Native Reserve (out in El Cajon) and watching "I Dream of Jeannie" slots being played
6. Watching the sunset into the ocean atop cliffs by the beach
7. Taking pictures of our shadows on the sand
8. Riding the LA Metro
9. Eating chicken fajitas at McDonald's (at the McD in Malibu, $1USD each, and it tasted good!)
10. Watching a sunrise (though intending to do again at Grand Canyon)
11. Seeing a bush fire first hand
Overall, California is a fun-loving state, with miles and miles of beautiful beaches and weather warm enough to enjoy the ocean. It's a great place to get a tan, even if it's a driver's tan from driving north up the coast in the middle of the afternoon, and there are tons of photo ops with the ocean all around and daily sunsets.
But there is something different. The college students that we interacted with at the hip hop competition were both more "ahead", yet more immature than students in Canada. There seems to be a loss of innocence, without any compensating addition of maturity. As well, California is a land of plenty. Plenty of people, cars, freeways, shopping, etc. Even when driving well outside of the city it it hard to find an area that has not been developed or commercialized.
We are on the road right now to Grand Canyon from Vegas, and Arizona is pretty much the opposite of California. The vast desert is a harsh land, with rare oasis of gas stations and fast food. But the landscape is still beautiful, with gently rolling hills with some shrubbery, or bouldery hills with a red clay base showing.
JCL 11:45am MST
The past week has been an interesting week of "firsts"
1. Salsa dancing
2. Riding in a convertible with the top down (Karen's red mustang convertible!!)
3. Sailing
4. Attending a live punk rock band concert ("16 Hour Drive", the night at Mission Beach, after sailing, http://16hourdrive.com/)
5. Going to a casino on a Native Reserve (out in El Cajon) and watching "I Dream of Jeannie" slots being played
6. Watching the sunset into the ocean atop cliffs by the beach
7. Taking pictures of our shadows on the sand
8. Riding the LA Metro
9. Eating chicken fajitas at McDonald's (at the McD in Malibu, $1USD each, and it tasted good!)
10. Watching a sunrise (though intending to do again at Grand Canyon)
11. Seeing a bush fire first hand
Overall, California is a fun-loving state, with miles and miles of beautiful beaches and weather warm enough to enjoy the ocean. It's a great place to get a tan, even if it's a driver's tan from driving north up the coast in the middle of the afternoon, and there are tons of photo ops with the ocean all around and daily sunsets.
But there is something different. The college students that we interacted with at the hip hop competition were both more "ahead", yet more immature than students in Canada. There seems to be a loss of innocence, without any compensating addition of maturity. As well, California is a land of plenty. Plenty of people, cars, freeways, shopping, etc. Even when driving well outside of the city it it hard to find an area that has not been developed or commercialized.
We are on the road right now to Grand Canyon from Vegas, and Arizona is pretty much the opposite of California. The vast desert is a harsh land, with rare oasis of gas stations and fast food. But the landscape is still beautiful, with gently rolling hills with some shrubbery, or bouldery hills with a red clay base showing.
JCL 11:45am MST
Early Start
Monday's adventures
Being back in San Diego, there were a few spots that we still hadn't had a chance to visit. One was the peak of Mount Soledad, the highest point in San Diego. Linda and I ventured up Mount Soledad to watch the sunrise, and managed to get there right after 6am. The sunrise was spectacular.
After heading back to nap, we went to Balboa Park. Although the Zoo is in the same park, we didn't have time to look at anything other than the Zoo when we were there last week.
We started to drive to Las Vegas, but traffic slowed down considerably. Since it was only 2pm on a Monday afternoon, we couldn't figure out why there was so much congestion. Then we saw the billows of gray smoke. Then we saw the fresh white smoke. Then we saw the flames
The bush fire was quite large in scope, and parts of the fire was quite close to the highway. There were fire trucks all over the area, as well as airplanes, presumably with chemicals or water to help extinguish the fires. Scary that it was so close to the highway, but thankfully it was in an area that was far from homes or other buildings. It was already an extremely hot day (my driver's tan has increased), but those firefighters were in their full gear, near the flames. I can't even imagine how uncomfortable or how much they were sweating, since we were only in the car and we were complaining.
Along the way we stopped at a rest area and got a few pics of the landscape surrounding the old indian trail renamed Mojave Road and now known as Interstate 15.
We arrived at Primm Factory Outlet to find that we had an hour to shop before the stores closed. Linda and Rosie both found something, but I was only able to find things at the B&BW. We are hoping to stop at the other factory outlets within Vegas at some point, in case anyone needs to place an order =)
By 8pm, the sun had set behind the desert mountain across the way from the factory outlet, which enabled this pic
JCL 11:15am MST (we're in Arizona on the road to Grand Canyon now)
Monday's adventures
Being back in San Diego, there were a few spots that we still hadn't had a chance to visit. One was the peak of Mount Soledad, the highest point in San Diego. Linda and I ventured up Mount Soledad to watch the sunrise, and managed to get there right after 6am. The sunrise was spectacular.
After heading back to nap, we went to Balboa Park. Although the Zoo is in the same park, we didn't have time to look at anything other than the Zoo when we were there last week.
We started to drive to Las Vegas, but traffic slowed down considerably. Since it was only 2pm on a Monday afternoon, we couldn't figure out why there was so much congestion. Then we saw the billows of gray smoke. Then we saw the fresh white smoke. Then we saw the flames
The bush fire was quite large in scope, and parts of the fire was quite close to the highway. There were fire trucks all over the area, as well as airplanes, presumably with chemicals or water to help extinguish the fires. Scary that it was so close to the highway, but thankfully it was in an area that was far from homes or other buildings. It was already an extremely hot day (my driver's tan has increased), but those firefighters were in their full gear, near the flames. I can't even imagine how uncomfortable or how much they were sweating, since we were only in the car and we were complaining.
Along the way we stopped at a rest area and got a few pics of the landscape surrounding the old indian trail renamed Mojave Road and now known as Interstate 15.
We arrived at Primm Factory Outlet to find that we had an hour to shop before the stores closed. Linda and Rosie both found something, but I was only able to find things at the B&BW. We are hoping to stop at the other factory outlets within Vegas at some point, in case anyone needs to place an order =)
By 8pm, the sun had set behind the desert mountain across the way from the factory outlet, which enabled this pic
JCL 11:15am MST (we're in Arizona on the road to Grand Canyon now)
