What a day...

Wow... I've been all over this blog thing this week but it's been so exciting with the Olympic bidding and my inside of ten day countdown to the marathon. I will probably go back to being boring pretty soon.

So this morning I had a bit of a mini-crisis when I lost my wallet (if you will recall, I've already lost my Blackberry once this year when I dropped it in the hallway of a hotel in Bozeman, MT). I lost my wallet a little more closer to home, actually it was found 2 houses north of me. The weird thing is that this morning I actually walked south (as I do everyday toward the L stop). Not sure how all of that transpired but if someone grabbed out of my very easily accessible pocket of my bag (and it's easily accessible so I can get on the train stat) they didn't take anything including the rarity of 20 bucks in it (I never carry cash). Odd but a happy ending.

I'm so bummed about the Olympics but there were so many wanksters here in Chicago that were vehemently against it that it's probably better this way. I'm not a fan of protests or pompus close-minded Republicans bitching about tax money going towards something AWESOME like the Olympics. I could seriously rant about that because there are only two things for certain in life, people. Death and taxes. Don't forget that, certain Republicans who are so fond of incessantly complaining about where their tax money goes as if taxes are the greatest travesty in the world.

I do have a recommendation for any of you who do venture to Rio for the 2016 games. It's pretty much the only fun thing I did because Rio is an unsafe hellhole of crime and badness.

Yeah dawg, that's me hangliding! Peace and good luck to you, Rio de Janiero.

(and I guess I'm going to miss writing about my travels. I used to be more entertaining than dropped wallets)

Busy Beaver...

Since we got back from Tennessee (which happened to be on Monday morning... love standby travel), I've been super busy. I've had 2 phone interviews and 4 actual real interviews in 2 days. EEKS! I've never been so sick of answering stupid questions about myself.

I get to go back to Texas tomorrow night (after my postponed for 2 days 20 miler.... AHHH!) for some wedding dress shopping and to see lots of my friends. It's also Brooke's big 29th birthday weekend and we're planning on sending her into her last year of the 2o's with a bang. I'll be toasting with my iced tea glass since I've given up drinking alcohol until the marathon. Come October 11th, that post race bloody mary is going to be so delicious.

Kickin' it in the Montanas...

By the time this posts, we will have enjoyed an evening in Nashvegas (or Cashville if you are Adam and dorky) and will be on our way to the Great Smoky Mountains!! I hope that we don't have any major issues getting down there although our pass travel record on Southwest has been pretty darn good.

I need to do a shorty five mile run over the weekend and want to get some nice hiking in while we're there. Hopefully the weather is gorgeous! I'll be back to my full unemployed and blogging glory on Monday... enjoy your weekend!

Monday is my 20 miler- eeks... I'm praying for cool weather and easy breathing.

and Happy Birthday to my grandmother (this past Tuesday) and Adam's mom, Tracy (tomorrow)!

Yellowstone in Pictures

I can't possibly explain how cool that Yellowstone National Park is. It's a place that you have to see for yourself and when you leave, you take away a great appreciation for just how big, diverse, amazing and awesome our country is.

I think people go there for 2 reasons: the wildlife and the geothermal activities. Basically there is a volcano really far below the park that causes geysers, paint pots and hot springs all over the place. Half of the geothermal activities on Earth occur there. I was only there a few hours but it's definitely in my plans to go back.

Check it out: (these pictures are courtesy of my flying partner, Denise, who organized the rental car and trip and actually had her camera with her)

Boston Part II

Now... for the original reason for our trip was to take Adam to Fenway Park for the first time. Going there definitely makes me appreciate that we live SO close to Wrigley Field and never have to take public transportation to the game. We went almost 3 hours early and the T train was still a giant mess of people. I love Red Sox fans so much! They have an undying love for that team and it brings the entire region together.

The game we went to was really special (even though the Sox lost, so sad!) because it was the first time that the old shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra, was returning to Fenway Park. Nomah, as they say with the Bahst'n accent, was a huge fan favorite during his time with the Sox. He got traded in 2004 to the Cubs (I was super pissed at the time) for a couple of players that were instrumental in the first World Series win for the team in over 80 years. It was awesome though because the Red Sox had a tribute to him on the scoreboard after the first inning and he got a standing ovation at his first at bat. He had to do a ton of curtain calls after the tribute and he said on Sportscenter that night that the tribute and fan reaction meant so much to him and that he was really choked up. He played great though, as did the rest of the A's, so we were a little disappointed in the loss. I guess we'll have to keep going back until we see a Sox win!

Before the game, we met my cousins Marybeth and Ashley for a Duck Tour. They do these in several different cities but I think Boston is the original city for the tours. They take you in a boat/tanker thing from WWII and drive you around the city before going into the local river. I think it's the best way to see the city and it makes me so sad that we don't have them here in Chicago. Adam even got to drive for a bit when we were in the Charles River. I think this was my third time on the tour, Ashley's second and probably the tenth time for Marybeth but they never get old because each driver has different personality. Even though the rest of our group was kinda lame-o, our driver, Paul Reverse, was pretty cool.

One of the other ducks in the water...

Our whole crew with Paul Reverse...

I wish we were still on vacation. I have to go back to work tomorrow, which I am totally dreading. Only a week before the furloughs are made official and it's not looking good for me at this point. I know it's all everyone will be talking/thinking about so it's kind of a negative environment. I guess when I take a look back on everything that's been going on lately, it's kind of amazing that I've lasted this long in such a crappy economy! I have ideas in mind for whatever happens, it will be nice just to know for sure because I have different plans for each of the three scenarios. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers this week, and not for any particular outcome, just for me to keep my sanity until next Friday! Have a great weekend!

Boston Trip

We were so lucky that I never got called for a trip on July 4th (but I still got paid for being on call for the holiday, YES!) so we got to leave for Boston a day early that afternoon. My cousin Julie, who is a real Boston superwoman, found us a hotel room in Harvard Square for the extra night. We checked in, I walked into the bathroom and there was a remote perched on the bottom of the mirror. Could it be? Yes it was!! Only two words were printed on it and they were all Adam needed to hear that he'd be able to accomplish one of his life goals.

"Mirror TV"

Yes, people. My boyfriend had one of his life goals to be able to use the facilities while watching television. It's the simple things in life for him. The extra TV, which actually synchronized with the main TV, came in so handy the next morning while we were getting ready and watching the marathon that was Roddick/Federer at Wimbledon.

Anyhoo, the INDEPENDENCE DAY fireworks in Boston are the best in the country. I guarantee it. We used to watch them with my grandmother when we were really little because they are on TV every year. They were awesome but what was even better than the fireworks show was the sideshow that is my Auntie Jean. She loves her some fireworks!! I was cracking up listening to her scream "WOOOOOOOO!" every time there was a good one.

The weather was beyond awesome for our first three days there. On Sunday we went downtown with the cousins to piddle around at Quincy Market and get Adam some Boston Clam Chowda. We ended up with some extra time so we decided to check out a Harbor Cruise. I am so glad that we decided to shop around because that is how we found....

CODZILLA!

For those who know me, I love speed boat tours. Codzilla was my third after doing the Beast in NYC and the Seadog here in Chicago on Lake Michigan. Not to burst anyone's bubble but Codzilla was by far the best one that I've ever been on. WE GOT SOAKED and the driver rocked that boat like nobody's business. We laughed so hard that Julie was bawling.

Soakedness!

Tomorrow I will post more about Monday's Duck Tour and the game but we had a total blast. I can't thank my awesome Boston branch of the family enough for hosting us and showing us a fab time.

And down came the rain...

As I type, we are in the middle of a huge thunderstorm that might actually last all day. It started at some point in the night and the thunder caused me to wake up frantically to shut the windows in the living room. I need to go to the Post Office and REI so I'm hoping it will let up soon. Adam's company golf outing is this afternoon and supposedly they are all playing, which is insane because it's been torrential rain for most of the day.

Anyway, I am so bummed because apparently we didn't take very many pictures at Tracee's wedding! And I am not that computer smart so I can't figure out how to get the bootleg versions of her photographer's photos. There are some good ones! So you will just have to do with the few that Charlotte sent me. My camera wasn't charged (and it sucks!) so I left it in Chicago and we kept leaving Adam's at the hotel. UG!

We drove to Victoria on Friday, I had never been before so we enjoyed exploring the city on our failed mission to find some Ace Pear Cider (or any cider!!??). It was hot as blazes and I was semi-concerned about being all schveaty in my dress. The rehearsal dinner was outside at the Victoria Art League, which was really cute. I wish I had thought to spray down with OFF beforehand because I got completely annihilated by mosquitoes. Vince (the groom) was in charge of the menu for the night and the food was awesome: beef, shrimp, potatoes, really awesome rolls (I might have had 3, oops), veggies, Lone Star beer, bananas foster... yummy! We got to sit with Tracee and Vince and he kept us very entertained with stories of the remote oil rigs he works at.

Somehow, I think it might have been Char's bf, Ryan, who came up with the idea, but we all decided that we need to visit a local small-town honky tonk bar. Ryan's Blackberry told us that we needed to go to a place called the LoneStar Saloon. It did not disappoint! I thoroughly enjoyed playing tunes on the jukebox.

Charlotte and Ryan at the Saloon!

Check out all the sweet signage behind us!! HAHAHA!

Seriously though, it was a really cool bar! We had six drinks and I think the tab was around $10. The bartender was very entertaining and the clientele were everything we'd ever hoped for. We even had to go back for more on Saturday night after the reception!

The wedding was awesome, here is a link to a picture that pretty much sums it up (I am so mad I can't get it to post on here!):

http://www.collages.net/store/emailedphoto2.asp?uniqueproduct=107091701

I was excited for Adam to see the reception because he had never been to a Texas wedding before and y'all know we do it a little bit different (dare I say better?) down there! The above picture was during the Grand March, which is one of my favorite wedding traditions. It's an awesome way to get a lot of people out on the dance floor. It was catered by an awesome BBQ place and Vince had a killer groom's cake that was a huge fish (awesome silver scales in the icing) with A&M on it's tail. We had so much fun, danced and laughed a lot and Charlotte and I spent the entire weekend ganging up on our boyfriends together, haha :) Sorry guys!

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Price! It was a fantastic weekend!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good: Tracee's wedding weekend... This deserves an entire post of it's own. I think (not clearly remembering due to Lone Star beer haze) that Charlotte took all of the pictures with her camera, except for the ones that the professionals took of us because I swear they were obsessed with our two cute couples :) Anyway, I'll write about it as soon as I get pictures because we had such a great time hanging out with one of my oldest and dearest friends and her beloved. The four of us got to sit with the bride and groom at the rehearsal dinner, which was a great and unexpected treat. Awesome party, T-Bone!!

The Bad: Having to come home to Chicago to major projects. It took me about five days to actually feel like I had a handle on the organization. It also rained on the two days that we had the actual heavy moving to do. Grrrr weather! I don't want to move again for a LOOOONG, LOOOONG time.

The Ugly: On the way home, I ended up with the very last seat on the last United flight of the day. Since Adam is able to double dip with buddy passes between me at United and his mom at Southwest, he had a better chance than I did to get home on SW later that night. So we said our tearful goodbyes (haha, jk) and I ran onto the plane. I was sitting next to a man that had boarded at the absolute last second and I think he was legally blind. Anyway, like a fool, I got out my iPod for the ride, shoved it in the seat pocket and started reading United's award-winning magazine, Hemispheres (which you are free to take with you, along with the SkyMall catalog, oh how I love inflight announcements and the company propaganda that is the Hemispheres!) since you can't have your music on for take off. The guy next to me started asking if I had been re-routed off of another flight too, I told him that I was actually flying stand -by, which was the reason for my late boarding, which of course led to an "I work for United" diatribe. Turns out he's a super frequent flier. Two hours and ten minutes later, we were finishing our conversation and I got off the plane, sans iPod touch. SADNESS! I will look for it at O'Hare when I go back to work, but I have like a .00004% chance of getting it back. So, I hope that someone from SkyWest Airlines is able to enjoy my sweet and very random taste in music.

Thank goodness I got an iPod shuffle from Adam for Valentine's Day or I'd be totally hosed!!!

Crazy Busy...

My blogging is going to suck for the next week and a half or so. We had 2 weddings last weekend and another one this weekend in TX, to be followed by some MUCH NEEDED R&R and then we have to move all of my stuff across town and paint at least one room. I can only think about a few activities at a time in order to keep from being overwhelmed.

On a random note, today, June 4th, is my second anniversary at United. How scary is that? In theory, you would think that with 2 years under my belt I'd be gaining some seniority, but with no one being hired to replace me in the bottom of the pecking order in over a year, I'm moving up the pay scale and not in seniority. But my next paychecks will reflect my moving into the Year 3 pay catagory! Woo hoo!

We are flying Southwest to San Antonio tonight and I CAN'T WAIT to get there. I'll be the pasty "northerner" dripping with sweat and complaining about the insanely hot temperatures (it was about 60 for the high here yesterday, FYI).

Lies! All Lies!

So strange things happen in my life sometimes. I had forgotten the amazing effect that working holidays can have on my schedule. Saturday morning the phone rang bright and early with a call to go to Narita, Japan. I'm not gonna lie to you (despite the title of this post) and tell you that Narita is my favorite trip, because it's not. Normally Asia means very long layovers and lovely hotels (oh, Renaissance Hong Kong). However, our union made a deal with the devil a long time ago for our Japan trips to be really short (i.e. 24 hours flight time in a 52 hour away from home span of time). And our hotel more resembles a college dorm room on move in day than any hotel I've ever seen. But I digress, it's the first time I've been away from North America for work in ages and I was a little bit pumped about that.

My first thought that morning went to something I had read in our paperwork about quarantines in Japan and China because of the H1N1 virus. If you will recall, I spent most of last week lying on the couch with a mystery illness. At briefing we had a minor discussion with our purser (aka boss flight attendant, as there are 14 of us on the big honkin' plane to Japan) and one of our trusty supervisors about the quarantine process in Narita upon arrival. The supervisor said something about traveling to Mexico in the last two weeks but since that didn't apply to me, I mentally cleared myself for the trip and told myself it would all be ok when I got there, despite the fact that the purser mentioned being in quarantine for 2 hours the other day because one passenger had a sore throat. Glorious.

12 hours and 260 coach passengers later, we were sitting at the gate in Narita when we were given bags of face masks for every person onboard to put on (almost 400 people). I am so sad that I wasn't allowed to take any pictures because it was one of the funniest things. Here's me modeling mine for you...

And about 10 people in Outbreak-style suits busted on the plane with all this high tech stuff to take everyone's temperature with infrared technology. Even though I was afraid that they'd find out about my secret sickness or that some other passenger would show up sick, it was still one of the funniest things that's ever happened to me in my line of work. We ended up passing our quarantine inspection and they gave everyone one of these little passes to get through customs and immigration.

I may or may not have mentioned that I had been ill within the past 10 days to pass the inspection. Oops.

Tomorrow, look for a fun post about sushi!

St. Louis Fun

It was so convenient that Amy and I were running our half in St. Louis, which is less than a five hour drive from Chicago. I sweet talked the boyfriends (well, mostly Amy's bf, since he's the one with the car) to drive down and hang out with us since Kristen had two weddings to attend on Saturday.


Friday was interesting. Amy rides free on United because of my passes so she had gone to Reagan airport to try to hop on a plane to Chicago, where we'd go to St. Louis together. Some times the best laid plans go awry and it ended up being about 8:30 p.m. (instead of 2:00) that she finally made it. Standby is always an exercise in patience, especially at an airport like Reagan, where there is a constant stream of people saying, "Oh, I'm on the 7:00 p.m. flight but I finished my day early, can I get on the 1:30 flight instead?" Amy pretty much spent 7 hours being bumped by revenue standbys. We decided to nix our plans of going to St. Louis on Friday night and to just drive down with the guys on Sat. morning. It actually worked well because Kristen was really sick and it gave her time to rest instead of entertain us.


We got to St. Louis early, had brunch with Kristen and FINALLY met her fiance! He was super nice and we ate a really great meal at a cute brunch/lunch place. They went off to their mega-wedding day and we headed south to the Budweiser Brewery.

As much fun as it is to play around with the equipment, y'all know the real reason we went.

FREE BEER!!!!!!! And yes, that is a glass of Stella that you see. They started giving that stuff away after the merger with InBev. Delicious.


We had dinner at one of my favorite STL restaurants, Zia's on the Hill. It was a fiasco because it was 6:00 p.m. on Saturday night, the place is uber popular and apparently the other 9,998 half runners decided to do their carb loading over there too. The poor hostess just plain sucked. This is one of the unfortunate side effects of my years of restaurant experience. I get extremely judgmental when the service is bad. This girl was disorganized to the max. Sometime during our hour and a half wait (we were quoted 45 minutes), I wanted to take her aside and show her how to get herself organized and understand how hostessing works. But I digress. The food was delicious and we were famished by the time we sat down. After dinner, the boys and Amy went to the casino (where Adam lost all the money that Brian won, apparently) and I went to the grocery store to get our marathon breakfast.


I've already told you probably more than you cared to know about the race so here are some pictures.


MORE FREE BEER! And this one was the Oatmeal Stout from Shlafly Bottleworks. SO YUMMY after 13.1 miles. I had forgotten how freely they give out the free suds in STL.





After the race with our coveted medals. YAY!

Getting in the fountain in front of our hotel was all I could think about once I realized I'd be soaked from the rain anyway. Too bad it was all algae-d and gross and I could barely keep my balance. I made it about 3 steps in but oh well, it was fun anyway!