How To Get From NYC to Paris

I got this from a friend, and apparently it's all over the 'net....but I am sharing because it's hilarious. This is yet another way to get from New York to Paris. Who cares about the boring old traditional way of flying? These are the directions I will follow if I ever get to Paris someday...

Follow these steps:

1. Go to Google Maps
2. Click on "Get Directions" tab
   
3. Type in From New York To Paris
   
4. Search by clicking "Get Directions"
   
5. Scroll down to #s 23 & 24
6. Read and laugh.
   

Vacation Stories Are the Best

So, I was in Fort Lauderdale visiting my Grandparents last week, enjoying the beautiful warm weather...

I went from seeing this...


...to seeing this...


It was quite depressing when I got home on Saturday (St. Patty's Day). We had to wait in a massive line in FL just to check in, and during our wait, we met a lady who was trying to get to Philly for a bar mitzvah. She told us that she had originally tried to fly out on Friday, and was already out on the tarmac when the passengers were notified the flight was canceled. How's that for luck? Fortunately, our Saturday flight was on time, and this lady got a seat. She asked us about the Philly airport because she had never been there before. We obliged her by answering her questions.

But, here's where the story gets funny....not really funny "haha" though...well, maybe a little. My mom, sister and I get on the plane, and more people continue to board. There's only 1 young guy sitting in the row behind us. Up the aisle comes an obnoxious spring-breaker, saying to her friend, but purposely out loud, "Oh no, that dude is not sitting in my seat" (referring to the guy behind us). He realizes immediately that she's talking about him. At this point, she's standing along his row, going "I don't mean to be a bitch, but...I need my seat." All along I'm thinking, 'Yeah, thanks for sharing with the whole plane.' Anyway, the guy was very apologetic and explained the only reason he was sitting there was because another girl was in his seat (which was the other side of our row).

Turns out, this guy and the girl in his seat were both assigned the same one...Yep, the same seat...on a full plane. So, then the flight attendants get involved and realize there are no open seats. This poor guy is literally standing in the middle of the aisle along side us, shaking his head, saying, "I just want to get home."

I kid you not, the flight attendants start doing an auction of sorts over the intercom, calling for any 1 volunteer who would opt to get off the plane, attempting to entice them with a free flight in the future. At first, no one bites (you could tell that people needed to get home, as there were mostly families and spring-breakers on the plane). So they call out two free flights. Nothing. Another spring-breaker somewhere in the back, calls out "How about unlimited?!" Everyone laughs. Still nothing. Three flights...we have a taker.

It's the bar mitzvah lady! My mom looks at me and says under her breath, "Oh...my...God..." I just look back at her and chuckle. Apparently she didn't have to get to Philly that bad.

This is why we go on vacation....just so we can have stories to tell. Of course I enjoyed the time I spent with my Grandparents, but who doesn't enjoy a good story??

My Eventful Week

I just got back today from visiting my sister, Erin, who lives outside Baltimore, Maryland. She's been bugging me for quite some time to come down and stay for a few days, so we finally made it work for the both of us. While I was there, I went to the community college where she works as an Athletic Trainer. She even put me to work on the computer for a little bit...well, actually, I volunteered. It was very impressive to see her in her element. She's very good at what she does (which I already knew), which has earned her the nickname, "Dr. Erin."


She, of course, apologized for dragging me to work with her, but it wasn't all day long...really only a few hours on each day, Tuesday and Wednesday. With all the new things to look at, and the overall quiet in the training room, it gave me plenty to learn about while I was there. And well, I somehow always manage to keep myself busy.

I met some of her co-workers and colleagues, and saw some of the facilities. Her friend & co-worker, Kate, stopped in a few times to say hello, and we visited her as well. Overall, I didn't mind being there because I received some much-needed therapy on my lower back. So, I can't complain.


Going to Erin's training room wasn't the only thing we did...far from it, actually. On Tuesday night, we went to see Pearl Jam at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. I had bought a pair of Fanclub tickets and decided to take Erin as an early birthday present. She hasn't seen them since 1998 (yikes)...and so, it was about time! This also worked out perfectly in planning my visit. We took the Metro down to DC a little ahead of rush hour, and made it down there around 5:15. After picking up my tickets at the Will-Call window, we had to wait until just about 6:40 for them to open the doors...people outside were hot and tired of waiting. Upon getting in, we rushed to the merchandise stand so I could get my poster and a t-shirt.

We then went to get some food to bring to our seats, in hopes of catching an acoustic pre-set by Eddie Vedder. When we got down to the floor, I was happy to find out exactly where my seats were (as I had not looked at a seating chart since I picked up my tickets)...we landed 10 rows back from the stage, dead-center! I was flying high (on life only!). While we waited, I pointed out some of Pearl Jam's road crew and security to my sister, who looked at me with a mix of marvel and fright. Not more than 20 minutes after we sat down, sure enough Eddie came out and performed a cover of Cat Stevens' "Don't Be Shy." Many seats around were still empty, so we were happy to catch the pre-set with a great view and without being bothered.

They played a very good mix of songs...hitting every album from their first, Ten, to their current self-titled one. The setlist was as follows:

Set 1: Release, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Corduroy, Animal, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly, Low Light, Unemployable, Grievance, Even Flow, I Got Id, Present Tense, BetterMan, Inside Job, Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, Why Go, Rearviewmirror

Encore 1: Man Of The Hour, Masters Of War (by Bob Dylan), Small Town, Come Back, Alive

Encore 2: Comatose, Leash, F***in' Up (by Neil Young), Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner

A note about "Betterman"...it was a beautiful, re-worked version, starting out slower with a piano intro by Boom Gaspar. Because I can't comment on all the songs, I'll say the highlights for me were: the overall mix of songs, calling the opener ("Release"), hearing the intro music to Ten as the band walked on stage, the re-worked Betterman, Matt Cameron throwing drumsticks out to the crowd and them landing not even 5 feet from our seats, hearing "Leash" live for my first time, hearing "Inside Job" live (amazing!!) and, of course, seeing the concert with my sister. Even though the guy behind me spilled beer on my chair and the back of my leg, I had a great time...Pearl Jam never disappoints.

Wednesday was my last full day in Maryland. In the morning, I had an opportunity to meet some people at an educational writing/editing company that I've done some freelance writing for. Erin's friend, Jocelyn, works there...she's the one that got me started on the freelancing, so she invited me to come in and see around her office. Then, the three of us spent the late afternoon and evening walking around the Inner Harbor. It was a beautiful night considering we had sweltering hot days this week. We had hoped to make it into the Baltimore Aquarium, but we ran out of time. That will be the plan for the next time I visit my sis...Thanks again, Air!!

You can see the above pictures and many others from the concert in my online photo album.

My Recent Visit to Atlanta

I just got back this past Monday from a 4-day weekend visiting Tim in Atlanta. Tom was my travel partner for this trip. It was also Tim's 28th birthday on Saturday so it was nice to be able to celebrate with him. We, of course, had many adventures -- both indoors and outdoors. I met some cool new people including Tim's roommate, Anthony, and their co-workers at The Weather Channel. I got to see Dredg in concert...which was definitely a highlight of the weekend...amazing music for sure. I also played one of the craziest games of Trivial Pursuit I've ever played and drank some really good drinks! (Anthony you need to patent that green one!) We visited beautiful parks for both hiking and lounging. I could have used a few more days there though to see even more! But, that's the beauty of travel...you can always go back!

*~A Few Videos~*
(they may take a few minutes to load)

Tom the Ham



Tom & Tim Playing Catch



The Big Race



Tim does a good job of giving a summary of what we did each day, with some of his pics and videos. View his page here.