It takes a strong man to admit when he’s wrong.
I was wrong.
I’m in love.
The new iPad was announced today.
Sorry, sweetheart.
Who wins the bet?
It’s the new iPhoto app that seals the deal for me. I’m sure it’ll run best on a new iPad.
Fun and Games Dept
Rambling.
I have mentioned before that I place a certain amount of credibility in my dreams. While most thing that a dream is nothing more than a brain defrag, the opportunity for our brains to exercise themselves when the rest of the body isn’t doing much, I’m part of the minority that puts a little more stock into the content of our dreams. I remember at least one dream at night, and I have actively maintained a dream journal since my high school days. One of the earliest dreams I recall involved playing BINGO with the Brady Bunch, because they’re showing opening had that grid thing and I figured they must have loved BINGO. I know I was pretty young when I had that dream, because it was when my sister was still in her crib (she’s two years younger than me) and I had my own bed in the back bedroom of our little mobile home we lived in at the time.
Anyways, back in 2002 or so I wrote in my dream journal that I was driving along Route 5S near the Village of Fort Plain (with a question mark next to ‘Plain’ because that didn’t feel quite right). I was in a black car (at the time we owned a maroon Impala) and I was driving home from work (I didn’t work anywhere near Fort Plain, today I do). I encountered a tornado and had to take shelter. It was a thrilling dream for me as I survived the storm just fine and I had always wanted to see a tornado. The black car even survived.
I had the same dream last night, though the black car was a black Jeep and I wasn’t in Fort Plain. I was in Fort Wayne. This is interesting, because I have never been in Fort Wayne in my life but I do suppose that because of their geographical location, they are apt to get a tornado or two during the appropriate season.
Perhaps Earl and I need to visit Fort Wayne.
There wasn’t much else remarkable about the dream. Just a lot of wind and rain and thunder and me crouching in a ditch as I watch the tornado go by a little ways up the road. My work badge, which hangs on a lanyard around my neck, is flopping around a little bit but I didn’t notice much else about me. The terrain was relatively flat in that I could see quite a ways off and I could see sun off in the distance, so I knew the storm would be short-lived. I woke up with a feeling of exhilaration, though, because I had finally experienced a tornado up close and personal.
I think I’m ready for some spring storms.
I can’t decide if there is a meaning behind the dream, other than me living out my desire to chase storms. Perhaps the flapping badge indicated that work interferes with chasing that dream.
What’s most important about the whole thing is that I felt relatively rested when I woke up this morning, despite my chasing tornadoes.
Danger.
I am hoping that one or more of my gentle readers can please help me restore my sanity and eliminate some of my road rage at the same time by indulging me for a moment.
Please take a look at the rudimentary sketch I have included below.
This was drawn on my iPad using my finger, so I apologize for the fact that my artistic skills are severely lacking. I’m not looking for a critique, I’m looking for an answer.
If you can’t tell, this sketch includes two, two-lane road intersections. The little red Smart car, as denoted by the little red X, wants to make a left hand turn into the road that leads them to greener pastures. If they turn right, they go nowhere.
Looking at my two scenarios, as separated by an orange line, could someone please tell me which of the two drivers is making a correct left-hand turn in the side road? Is the person on the left, who is cutting the corner so short that they’re crossing over the yellow line and clipping the front of the vehicle waiting their turn to make their turn, or is it the person on the right, who is staying in their lane and not crossing into any oncoming traffic nor taking off the bumper of the car that is waiting but not pictured. (If you need a visual, it’s a brown 1974 Chevy Vega held together with duct tape).
I just drove 500 feet across the parking lot from Dunkin’ Donuts to my favorite parking space in the sun. Anyone want to venture a guess which scenario pictured above I encountered not once, not twice, but three times (though I’m not in a Vega and no vehicle parts bumped up against any others though several drivers did try)?
Is this lack of ability to make a safe left hand turn only rampant in this cozy little area of Jesusikistan or is this something that can be seen anywhere in the lower 48 states? (Hawaii is too relaxed to bother with left hand turns and Alaska apparently uses helicopters for their travel needs). Do our folks in Europe have the same issues? Does the UK and Ireland and Australia and wherever else they drive on the more sensible side of the road have the same issues with right hand turns?
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Diner.
One of the things that Earl and I don’t really care for about this area is the lack of diners. Now I’m not talking about the wannabe chain diners like “Denny’s Diner” or other locations of that ilk, I’m talking about real, hometown diners where the food is made and cooked locally and the locals come in and pretty much know each other.
There’s a diner (as in an old diner-car type place) not too far from here and while the food is good and the staff is very friendly, there is just something about it that doesn’t feel overly comfortable. I don’t know if it’s because it’s somewhat run down or what, but Earl and I never feel overly compelled to go there even though we’ve never had a bad experience there. The other option is called Boulevard Diner and it’s in a regular building instead of looking like a diner. They recently remodeled that location and while it’s quite nice, it has more of a family restaurant feel instead of diner feel to it. Like the formerly mentioned, we’ve never had a bad experience but it doesn’t feel quite right to us. Earl doesn’t care for it as much as I do, so I usually end up going there when he is out of town.
A week or so ago, we noticed that what had been a closed down diner was open again. Since we rarely go by this location, we don’t know how long it has been open, but this morning we decided to go and take a peek. Like the “family restaurant” feeling diner, this one looked to be in a regular building instead of a diner car.
Walking into the diner this morning proved my suspicions wrong, because the building is built AROUND this old diner car that has been restored to an impressive state. Earl and I enjoyed our Sunday morning breakfast at Bev’s Place today and it felt like a diner, it smelled like a diner and the atmosphere showed us that it is very much a diner. Unfortunately, like everything that call itself a diner but isn’t attached to a chain in this area, Bev’s Place is not open 24 hours (sometimes you just want diner food at 3 a.m.) but I was able to order lunch during the breakfast hours today so I am content.
I snapped a photo this morning because I really liked the feel of the place. We look forward to going back again soon.
Celebrate.
So today is my husband’s birthday. This is the first time that I have been able to say this. I usually say “today is my husbear’s birthday” or “today is my partner’s birthday” but I get to say that it’s my husband’s birthday today because we are legally married and all that. That’s a really good feeling.
As we grow old together I find it amazing that I find him as breathtakingly handsome as he was when I met him back in the mid 1990s. Maybe even more so. His charisma is ageless.
We took Jamie and Scott to Syracuse for an overnight birthday celebration this past weekend. I was going to take us all to Turning Stone, but the place was booked, so we went to an Italian restaurant in Little Italy in Syracuse called Asti Caffé. It’s highly recommended by a couple of my cousins and now I join the ranks of those making recommendations. Excellent food and atmosphere. We spent the night on University Hill near the Carrier Dome. We didn’t go out or anything, just spent time together laughing and exploring Earl’s new iPad2. I never thought I’d see the day that he’d love an iPad but now he can’t put it down. He said it’ll be much easier to travel with an iPad versus hauling his MacBook Pro around. Now he knows why I carry my iPad everywhere.
There’s nothing special planned for this evening other than relaxing. It’s always good to be able to relax. Even on your birthday.
Happy birthday, sweetheart!
Random.
I just tweeted about this but I thought I would elaborate here a little more. Due to the hectic work schedules, there has not been time to go to the grocery store to stock up the cupboards and the fridge, so I needed to buy my lunch today. I’m on a vegetarian kick (it’s my second day, yay!) so I opted to go to the World’s Best Subway (my description of the place which is apparently becoming outdated), which is situated in the little mall near work. I say “little mall” but that’s being generous, it’s populated with eight stores, including the movie theatre and the aforementioned Subway.
As I walked in the main entrance, I noticed two men looking at me and smiling which was kind of creepy. They were sitting on the small gathering of four tables outside of the entrance to Subway. This area is otherwise known as The Food Court. For some reason, I think it would do better in this little mall if they called it Ye Food Courte but I digress.
As I made my way towards the entrance of Subway, one of the men leaped up and started screaming and dancing. I think the screaming was suppose to be singing but it was more startling than anything as he bellowed, “Welcome to the Pyramid Mall Johnstown! Wooooooo!” I smiled politely, looked around for the Candid Camera and walked into Subway, where the tune apparently changed. “Welcome to Subway! Home of the $5 sub! Wooooooooo!” This verse required a little bit of shuffling, as the disheveled looking gentleman, whom I noticed was wearing a uniform from the local grocery store, started doing a little dance a la “Hello my baby” from the WB.
“Why thank you,” I said in my gruffest voice, which sounds like the blond guy from Brokeback Mountain (the top).
I got into line at Subway and didn’t think about the dancing man much more as the woman with the mustache in front of me pulled out a list of one or two dozen subs and started barking out her order in the wrong order, asking for the veggies first. I banged my head against the closest wall a few times and that’s when the woman down the Subway assembly line looked at me, smiled and said, “I can help you over here.” She promptly put together a veggie sub on wheat that was remarkably tasty. As I was paying and accumulating points, I couldn’t help but notice that the woman with the mustache was still barking out random vegetables when asked if she wanted her tuna subs toasted or not. She’d reply “tomato.”
As I made my way to the beverage counter to get my unsweetened iced tea, the man from the hallway burst through the doors and screamed “$5 subs only at Subway of Pyramid Mall Johnstown! Wooooooo!” He then shuffled back outside of the restaurant.
I turned to the cashier and said, in my best Brokeback Mountain (the top) voice, “that was odd.”
“Yeah, he does that all the time and it scares us but we laugh.” She then gave a nervous laugh that bounced her jaw like one of the monsters from Scooby Doo.
Sounds like a hoot.
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
