Breathe

It has been crazy busy with Anna's visit and this is probably the first time since her arrival last Friday that I've been able to breathe a little bit. Anna's hanging out with AirForceguy tonight and so I have the evening to myself. Nice. The last few days have been filled with much laughter, tears, and stories, that I don't even know where to begin. It's been so refreshing to have this time with Anna and the last few days with her have me wondering why I am living so far away from Vancouver. I think about that for a while, but then I remember my reasons for why I am living out here in the east coast instead of the west coast.

So Friday night AirForceguy picked up Anna up from the Airport and took her to my place. We had dinner at Buca DiBeppo and ended up spending the rest of the evening at Target - my happy place. Who would have thought we could have so much fun shopping at Target on a Friday night? This may sound incredibly loserish (is there such a word?), but we seriously had a great time there. I honestly cannot remember the last time when I laughed so hard and with all the ruckus we were causing in the store, it's nothing short of amazing that the Target people didn't kick us out of there. Some of Airforceguy's co-workers are travelling out to Niger to do their Airforce work (secret mission kinda stuff), and so Airforceguy asked us if we wanted to donate some toys, books, crayons, etc... for his co-workers to bring out to Niger with them. And no, the Airforce guys aren't going to color and play with toys while they're out there. They are going to an area that is quite impoverished and have asked for donations to give to the kids they will come in contact with out there. Hence, our trip to Target. We filled our cart with small toys, crayons, notebooks, matchbox cars, and other knick-nacks. In the end, we closed out Target. Yay us.

Saturday I worked with the teen adoption group I've been facilitating all summer and then met up with Anna and Airforce guy. We walked around Chinatown and perused through the Reading Terminal Market Place, where I got one of the biggest shocks since I moved out here. I ran into an old college friend who I have not seen in almost 7 years. We were really good friends in college and remained in contact for a few years after that, however, after I moved out here she went grad school in Montreal and we somehow lost touch. Turns out, she has been living in Philly for the last two years. And the crazy thing is, she only lives about a 5 minute walk from where I work. I cannot wait to get together with her again and play catch on the last 7 years of our lives. Some may call it a coincidence, but I call it serendipity.

Today was Joy and Anna time. We spent part of the morning hanging out with the 5 and 6 year olds in Irishgirl's summer day camp. They were certifiably adorable! One of the 5 year olds I've known since she was three weeks old, when her mother started attending the teen mom's group I facilitated years ago. I haven't seen this little girl in almost a year and it was amazing to see how much she has grown. After our time at the day camp, we drove out to Princeton and went kayaking on the Delaware Raritan Canal. Although today was a scorcher, it felt relatively cool as we kayaked along the canal. What with the water periodically splashing us as we paddled and the trees shading us, it made it for a refreshingly cool kayaking trip. We kayaked for about two hours and after the first hour, my arms were burning. I know that I am definitely going to feel it tomorrow. But I have to say, the beautiful and peaceful ride was worth it. And of course, what's a kayaking trip without taking pictures, right? Anna, the camera junkie that she is, brought her digital camera for our little excursion and so of course, we went camera happy with all the water creatures we discovered along the canal. The highlight for me was when I discovered a pelican perched on a rotting tree trunk floating down on the water. Yeah, I know, it really doesn't take much to amuse me. Following our kayaking trip, we drove out to Princeton University's campus for some pub food and for Anna to grab more photo opp's of the stately brick buildings at the university. I guess one could say that she was in her element at Princeton. Like me, it really doesn't take much to amuse her either.

So back home we feasted on this great pasta dish that Anna threw together, along with some nice bruschetta, (which yours truly made from scratch), parisian bread and a riesling that I've been saving for such an occasion as this. All of course was shared with Airforceguy, Irishgirl, and PAgirl.

It was good times. Good times.

TGIF

I thought this week would never end. It's been an incredibly slow week and I am thankful it's Friday. This afternoon my cousin, Anna , flies in from Vancouver and so I'm pretty excited about her arrival. Lately I've been craving the familiarity of family, expecially with Anna and her older sister Gail. Seeing that things within my immediate family seem so dysfunctional lately and accepting the reality of their own limitations, my relationship with Anna and Gail has been the only constant and calming force in my life as of late. I hate it that they live so far away.

This weekend and part of next week will be fairly busy and so my presence online may be somewhat scarce. Well, time for me to face the heat and humidity outside. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Thought For The Day

"I don't know whether it is alarming or reassuring that I will never be able to know the sum total of my thoughts."

Another NYC Sunday

Played hooky from church today and hopped on the train up to NYC and hung out with Columbiagirl and Therapyboy for the day. The nice breeze in the city was a great reprieve from the 100 degree heat and humidity the east coast had been suffering through all week. After meeting me in Penn Station, we walked over to Chelsea and had lunch in this cute restaurant, Wai? Cafe. The food was great - fresh, healthy, and most importantly, cheap. Considering NYC's high prices, cheap would be operative word here.

Columbiagirl and Therapyboy have a membership at The New York Botanical Garden and so after lunch we hopped on a train and headed up to the Bronx which is where the garden is located. Getting there was, shall I say, an adventure? Due to various construction taking place on the MTA this weekend, some of the subway stops were closed and so we ended up taking this round-about way up to the Bronx. What should have been a 40 minute train ride to the garden took about us about an hour and half. I won't even go into all the details, but needless to say, it was really frustrating. Stupid MTA construction! Nonetheless upon our arrival at the garden, I was pleasantly surprised and decided that, despite our frustrating train ride, it was absolutely worth it. The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of exquisite gardens and plants on a 250 acre of land in the Bronx. When I walked through the entrance gates, I was immediately wisked off into a different world. It was surreal, knowing that outside the gates of the garden was the hustle and bustle of NYC's Bronx borough. Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures is this summer's exhibit, where he has various installations of his glass sculptures in the Conservatory and other landscapes. As I walked through the exhibit, I was amazed to see how art and nature developed a fascinating dialogue through exotic forms and brilliant colours. It was breathtaking.


The day flew by so quickly and before I knew it, it was time to head back home. Fortunately this time there wasn't the usual last minute mad dash for the train track when we arrived at Penn Station, since I had about half an hour before the train left. Although Columbiagirl and Therapyboy only live an hour and a half away from me, it's always hard saying goodbye. Especially today. Good friends like them are really hard to come by.

My senses are so aware right now, probably due to a long and somewhat emotional day. I hope I don't have trouble sleeping tonight.

French Dream

So here's the deal. An office mate of mine, CATTSgirl, who works in a different department but sits in the cubicle behind me is planning a trip to France in October with her sister and several other friends. CATTSgirl invited me to join them on this trip and in the last few weeks I've been hemming and hawing over my decision. Travelling to France, exploring the city of Paris, roaming around the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay, taking in the Notre Dame and attempting to use my feeble knowledge of the French language with Parisian natives has always been one of my dreams. CATTSgirl and her sister found a house just outside of Paris, owned by a woman who lives in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia. At different times of the year, this woman rents out her house to tourists for a very reasonable price. CATTSgirl and I calculated the cost for the week we would stay and the result was that we would only have to pay approximately $91.00 each for the week. Unbelievable. And the crazy thing is, CATTSgirl's brother-in-law apparently has this business account hook-up where we could probably purchase airline tickets at two for the price of one. Yeah, I'm kind of drooling here. But...

I'm a little uncertain.

Why?

Because CATTSgirl will be the only one I will know who is going on this trip and I am a little wary of what the group dynamics will be like. I've been told that the others who are going are fun, easygoing people - much like myself ;) - but I am still a little anxious about it. Nonetheless, we're talking about PARIS here. And the cost is too good to pass up this opportunity.

So why then am I hesitating?

Do Not Lie To Me

If there is anything that pisses me off big time, it is people who lie. Why can't people just be honest? What do people have to gain by being deceitful and dishonest? Does the term "integrity" not have any kind of value in society these days?

I bring this up because I just recently discovered someone lying to people who are near and dear to my heart. The shame of the matter is, I have lost total respect for this individual.

If you lie to me, then own up to it and ask for forgiveness, I will forgive. However, it will take a very long time for me to trust you again.

Another Rilke III

Song Of The Orphan

I am no one and never will be anyone, for I am far too small to claim to be; not even later. Mothers and Fathers, take pity on me. I fear it will not pay to raise me: I shall fall victim to the mower's scythe. No one can find me useful now: I am too young, and tomorrow will be too late. I only have one dress, worn thin and faded, but it will last an eternity even before God, perhaps. I only have this whispy hair (that always remained the same) yet once was someone's dearest love. Now he has nothing that he loves. - Rainer Maria Rilke

Worlds End

Camping was great but of course it started raining very early Saturday morning and when I woke up, a nice little puddle had formed in our tent. Lovely. For some reason the weather forecast promising us a beautiful weekend did not follow through with it's promise. It rained all morning, off and on, until mid afternoon. Lovely. Nonetheless, we decided not to let the rain get the better of us and went ahead with our plan to hike up the Canyon Vista Trail. Obviously since it rained all morning the trail was incredibly wet and muddy. Some of my hiking mates wore running shoes up the trail, but I, of course packed my sturdy hiking boots. And guess who ended up with dry socks and feet in the end? God bless my hiking boots. But I digress. The hike up was pretty steep in some sections - some parts of the hike made me recall the hike I did all the way up the Grouse Grind in Vancouver (can we say traumatizing?) - however when we arrived up at the top we were rewarded with this:

It was a spectacular view and it made me wonder why I haven't been hiking since last fall. Last September I dragged Irishgirl and PAgirl up the Delaware Gap to do a 5 hour hike on part of the Appalachian trail. On our way down we kind of got lost. Obviously since I'm here writing this post we were able to find our way back down my car. It was kind of a traumatizing experience for us. So at the top of the Canyon Vista Trail we took pictures and made our way down. No we did NOT get lost on the way down.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing by Loyalsock creek, hanging out at the campsite, and eventually concluding they day with a wienie roast. I know what y'all are thinking and y'all better get your minds out of the gutter. :D We were supposed to stay until Sunday afternoon but because of the mini-lakes formed in our tents, we came to the agreement that we really did not want to spend a night in misery in our very wet tents and soaked sleeping bags. Hence, we decided to pack up our vehicles and drive the three hour ride back to Philly that night. Yes we're a bunch of wusses but THIS wuss had an amazing sleep on a DRY bed, with DRY blankets and a DRY pillow on that same night.

Bye Bye

Gone camping this weekend at the Poconos. Looking forward to some hiking, swimming and s'mores. Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Meme....Meme.....Meme!

So I got tagged by the sassy Unacknowledged Genius to do the five things meme thingy and so here goes....

In My Purse
Sony Clie PDA
Cell Phone
Rosebud Strawberry Lipgloss (I NEVER leave home without it!)
Newsweek magazine (yes I am a news junkie)
wallet

In My Refridgerator
Strawberries
Cabot Vermont sharp cheddar cheese (yum!)
3 bottles of Michelob Ultra
Romaine Lettuce
Mushrooms (no, not THOSE kind of mushrooms!)

In My Closet
Tons of shoes (yes, I'm a shoe whore)
Clothes
A big purple tulip fleecy blanket (my cousin Anna likes to call it the "porn blanket" - don't ask)
Purses galore
Weights

In My Car
Sunglasses
Stenopad
Pens
Another Newsweek magazine (yes i am a veritable newsweek whore)
Big bag of clothes to drop off at the Goodwill

Not sure who to tag so go ahead and knock yourselves out and Meme Meme Meme!!!

If These Walls Could Speak...

After five years of inhabiting what I've affectionately dubbed as the "Linden Street Penthouse" (LSP), this past weekend saw the end of an era. LSP (kind of sounds like a drug, doesn't it?) is the detached 3 level rowhome we've lived in since 2001 - Irishgirl, PAgirl, Iowagirl and I - and now we have gone our separate ways. Although we won't be moving too far from each other (Irishgirl and I are moving to the downstairs apartment), this change is somewhat bittersweet. UrbanPromise is what brought this mish-mash of individuals together almost six years ago and now "life" as we know it is allowing us to move forward with our lives.

Yesterday Iowagirl and I spent the morning cleaning LSP and as I walked around the empty rooms, I could almost hear the echoes of each of our voices in every room, simultaneously envisioning all the different memories we made over these last five years. As I encircled the now bare and stark room which used to be my bedroom, an overwhelming rush of emotions hit me, down to the core of my very being.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of one very late night when Irishgirl and I made up ridiculous lyrics to old Sunday School songs and laughing hysterically over idiotic actions made up along the way.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of dumb highschoolish conversations of "Who Would You Rather Kiss?"

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of celebrating friendship every Valentine's day over wine and cheese, strawberries and chocolate.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of a somewhat inebriated Joy climbing out of the third floor window so she could lay atop the roof to find a glimpse of stars in the midst of city lights.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of Irishgirl's self-appointment of caretaker whenever Joy becomes somewhat inebriated.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of Iowagirl's continual attempts to "cop a feel" at yours truly's various body parts.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of Joy's continual attempts to "cop a feel" back at Iowagirl. (It's a roomate thing)

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of a time when Larissa spent the night and during a late night conversation, yours truly managed to convince her that a girl could lose her virginity by using a tampon.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of the morning after IvyLeagueBoy and I broke up and Iowagirl sitting on my rocking chair, consoling me as I wept in my bed. She just sat and listened. Didn't try to solve the situation or give me pat answers. She just listened.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of the many confrontations and butting of heads between Irishgirl and Joy.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of the many laughter shared between Irishgirl and Joy.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of PAgirl's gentle spirit, always caring, always supportive.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of Irishgirl and Joy's late night prayers for each other and for the unknown future.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of Iowagirl, PAgirl and Joy nursing a pitt bull back to health.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of Irishgirl and Joy downloading Barry White's Greatest Hits, while doing the sitting-head-bop on our kitchen table.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of the four of us cramming into Iowagirl's room, on her bed, every Wednesday night to watch Lost.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of boyfriends coming and going.

If these walls could speak...
it would talk of friends and family coming and going.

If these walls could speak...
it would speak of four women, whom five years ago, saw each other as strangers but are now inextricably intertwined and regard each other as family.

Sorry

I know, I know. I told y'all that I would post pictures and stories from my trip up to Niagara falls with my pal Larissa. The thing is, I'm still waiting for her to email me the pictures. I ran into her at Target the other day and she told me that she's waiting for her sister to send pictures that she could forward to me. With all that to say, you, my ever so faithful will need with wait with great anticipation. So stay tuned......

Back

So I just got back from Niagara Falls a few hours ago and I am absolutley spent. I'd love to share the highlights of this trip but it will have to wait. I've been up since 5:30 AM, my brain feels like mush and my thoughts are barely coherent. Since I moved into a new place, I won't have access to the internet until this Friday, when the cable guy will hook my place up with the necessities, ie. cable, internet & phone. I'm at Starbucks right now and only have about 15 minutes left. Yes, my idiot self paid the 6 bucks for the hour. But I was desperate! I needed to email some reports to my supervisor this afternoon.

Anyways, I have some real doozies to share from this road trip and so stay tuned. If y'all are good, I may even post some pictures. Larissa, hint...hint...you've got my email address :P