Mt. Vernon

Mt. Vernon

Saturday, I went to (one of my) boyfriends’ house and had a party on his lawn.  

George and Martha Washington hosted an awesome holiday party.  There were horses, and hot apple cider, and fireworks choreographed to Celine Dion, and it was basically Heaven.  It was not freezing, which was great, since we sat on the lawn to watch the fireworks because we didn’t have time to run back and get chairs from my car.  It was a mild night, beautiful weather, and the fireworks were reflected over the glassy Potomac River.  

Paired with good company and good health, one simply could not ask for anything more.

I’ve never been to Mt. Vernon when it’s been warm out.  I don’t know why, but I always end up going when it is freezing out and there is nothing green or floral to see.

Last year, I went to Mt. Vernon for the day and spent a great deal of time walking around the property with Kate.  

Fast history – George wanted to be buried here:

which was an old family crypt in a lovely nook of the property, but they moved his tomb (after realizing the crypt was just in bad condition, and then someone tried- and failed - to steal his body, so it was time to go) to a new mausoleum which is further away and gigantic, and now Martha was buried near him (along with the other family members.)  

The old crypt still stands, but is in disrepair.  It still is one of my favorite spots on the property because it is so lovely.

When I went with Kake a couple years ago, there was hardly anyone there because it was freezing and windy.  

This is one of our favorite photos of us.  

I hug the trees (I know, it's embarrassing) when I go to Mt. Vernon, especially this one, which George himself planted.

We got to the mausoleum, which is always guarded.  We were not being disruptive, just casually chatting about things we were seeing, but this lady was being such a jerk and was giving us the side-eye and shushing us.   It was outrageous. There was no one else there.  

I mean, I get it; it’s a place of sanctity and silence.  If there were other people around, I would get that it’s really a place for just walking up, paying respects, and walking away.  But, as there was no one there, we were just casually talking about the trees around and the architecture and whatever else, but this lady was being such a b.  So, I went up and hung out with George for a minute, just to hang out with his presence and say hi, and then I turned on my heel to leave, and looked down, and there was a $20 at my feet. 

It’s as if George himself said, “Hey gurl.  Sorry about my betches, you know how they can be; they’re just looking out for me.  How much was your ticket?  $18?  Here’s a $20.  Sorry, boo.”

Someone remind me to go back to Mt. Vernon in the Spring.  Actually, let's go together.  

(Are you still wondering why someone would try to steal G.W.'s body?  Me, too.  I mean, what... why?... what would one even do... Maybe we don't want to know.)

Side note, I just Google image searched George Washington, and this site came up, which YOU HAVE TO GO SEE.  Maybe I am the only one who finds it as funny as I do, but I am sitting here dying at my computer from choking back the fits of laughter.  I can only look at one at a time and then I have to look away, because they are so funny.

Well, I hope you have a great Christmas.  I'll be traveling for a while, so I will post again upon my return, boasting of several adventures, I'm sure.

Merry Christmas!!

Goodbye Forever, Hong Kong, Army/Navy

Look at my neighbor's house.

Complete with life-size, talking waving Santa.

And that is just the front.
I love it.

Goodbye Forever

I don’t know when it happened, but at some point in my life, I picked up the habit of saying, “Goodbye forever!” whenever I leave work.  

This can be traced back to one of my very first jobs, when I was 15 years old working at Taco Bell. My friend (with whom I worked there, and several other jobs to come) said that was one of the things he loved about working with me;  at the end of my shift, I would say, “okay, I’m leavin’ y’all!!”  And then I would come back in about 3-4 more times because I kept forgetting things, and then finally, when I actually had everything, I would say, “OKAY GOOD BYE FOREVER!!” 

I must do it still to this day, more often than I think.  One day recently, I was leaving work, and I said, “Okay, bye.”  I was answered with a choir of “Okay, goodbye forever,” from all of the guys.  I just started laughing and laughing.  We all took a minute to talk about it.  I said, “Do I say that?”  And they said, “Yes, you say it all the time, and we didn’t know what to make of it at first!”  

I told them that I’ve always said it, and I don’t know why – I guess you just never actually know if it is goodbye forever!  I have to walk across a lot of streets in the city!  And the one guy who is from Kenya (we have a pretty cultural group) told me, “See, that’s what we’ve figured, and now we get it and think it’s funny, but at first I was really worried, because we don’t talk about such things in my culture.”  And I told him that you have to talk about things!  And he said, “Well, now I get it, now it is okay, but it was a learning experience.”

It’s like that story in “The Princess Bride” where the Dread Pirate Roberts says every single night, "Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning."  Click here for the reference.

Hong Kong

I have to say “goodbye forever” to two of my very good friends soon.  They (husband and wife) are part of the archery family, and they are moving to Hong Kong in a couple of weeks because they were both offered jobs at a college over there.  Can you even imagine being given 3-4 weeks to just move across the world?  They have to find places for everything – from furniture to their cars and pets.  Neither of them speak the language.  I can’t even imagine.

Well, I need them to learn quickly, so that they know what is going on over there by the time I go to visit them.  I have never in my life wanted to visit the Asian countries.  I don’t know why; it’s just never appealed to me.  But now they are going, so I have to visit.  It’s just like Florida – I do NOT like Florida, and yet I’m always there for some reason or another. 

Well anyway, if you have any helpful tips for my friends, please feel free to pass them along, and I am sure that they could use all the help they can get.  I will miss them.

Army/Navy Game

I have weird hearing, and can hear things very far away, like music in restaurants that no one else can hear, and I can process three conversations at once. 

(Although if one conversation takes me away from the others, it can lead to a lot of confusion.  For example, yesterday, this guy Kevin was at my desk talking about how his hair was really long in the 80’s and then I noticed that the box marked “produce” which was delivered to the lady across from me was walking away.  I started chasing the box, not willing to miss out on the opportunity for free quality pears.  I tracked down the girl carrying the box, and expressed my concern, and she laughed and said we could open the box together.  We opened it, and lo and behold…. Cookies.  DARN THE LUCK!  I said how disappointed I was, since I really thought I was going to get free produce, and then it was noted that I was probably the only person in the whole office who would be mad about cookies not being produce.  As we were discussing this, Kevin slowly rounded the corner, with such a confused look on his face, and I just started laughing and apologizing.  He said, (whilst laughing) “I was in the middle of a sentence, and you just ran away…” I said, “Yeah, I know,  I’m sorry.  I tend to do that a lot.”  And he said he was used to it by now.)

So I heard what sounded like a bunch of low-flying helicopters in the distance yesterday, and I ran over to the window to see what was going on.  Turns out it was a bunch of low-flying helicopters coming over the harbor.  I also saw a ton of people gathering, so I grabbed my coat and went outside.  Army and Navy were outside having a huge pep rally for the Army/Navy football game today, and I gotta admit – I had SO MUCH FUN watching the pep rally.

Go Army!

Go Navy!

I usually would lean towards considering myself more of a Navy girl, but, when the Army band broke out into some Taylor Swift yesterday, I must admit that I was nearly swayed:

The pull-up challenge - Who can do the most pull-ups in 5 minutes?

Very fun to watch!

Now I REALLY want to go to the Army/Navy game.  :-(

Star Wars, Thermal Engineers

Star/Office Wars

There was a minor explosion at work yesterday when it was discovered that I have never seen Star Wars. 

I think I just heard the sound of half of my followers slamming the door behind them on their way out.

I didn’t know it was such a hot button issue, okay?? 

The conversation went something like, “And I showed the website to Veronica, but she didn’t think it was funny because she didn’t get it.”  So I say, “I’ve never seen Star Wars.” 

Just then, a cold, dark chill swept the room.  The lights flickered.  The hanging florescent lights suddenly started shaking and swaying in a sudden inexplicable, icy gust.

A choir sounded from all around me.  “You’ve WHAT?  Not even ONE?”   

I told them that I feel like it’s normal for people to not have seen Star Wars, and that they are all nerds, and not by any means a proper representation of the US populous as a whole.  They completely disagreed.  I said that I thought it was weird that none of them have seen all of the Twilights.  They said that was TOTALLY different.  I said it wasn’t different to me.  Or how about Lord of the Rings?  Harry Potter? 

It was a stalemate.  None of us had anything to say to each other.  You could have cut the tension with a knife.  There was fire in every one's eyes.   The temp was inconsolable.

Anyway, yadda yadda yadda, now I’m not friends with any of them, and I’ve been uninvited to all company holiday events.

Thermal Engineers

Speaking of the holidays, it is so hard to buy Christmas gifts for men.  I say this as a woman, since men are probably saying how hard it is to buy for women.  But really, with women, you can’t go wrong with anything that smells good (lotions, candles, food) or you know… money.   

But what do you buy for a man who 1) has everything (and is all set in the BBQ area)  and 2) is not into things like golf, or golf packages, or golf retreats?  This is what I was running into with my step dad, and everyone at work is very unhelpful, since they all like golf.   So, he finally actually made a Christmas list, and now, ladies, I have the answer to all of your holiday buying guide needs for the NASA thermal engineer YOU know! 

 Here it is!!! (This is the link to the item)

And, don't forget one of THESE!!!

Please disguise your jealousy.  I know, now you want one.  Well, get in line!

Okay, I've run out of things to say to you for right now.

IM from temp (I am so proud.)

9:40 AM Temp

(*_*) Q------(-_-Q)

Knockout

Kids these days are so clever with their internets.

Carols of the Season

I hope your Thanksgiving was great, and filled with warm memories, and that you want for nothing and no one.

I never know how to feel around this time of year, so I usually just sing Christmas carols very loudly in my head (or out of my head) to compensate for the discomfort.  I'm pretty sure that's the whole principle behind why Christmas carols exist.

It's hard for me to make out where I stand and what I should/should not be doing/saying to my varying degrees of family.  It's very complicated.  I'm sure your situation is the same - I am not unique.  Perhaps this is the whole reason people started caroling in groups, and even going door-to-door, for that matter.  Uncertainty must love company.  Everyone just decided to throw back some libations and go singing up and down the streets one day, in acknowledgement of no one knowing how else to feel.

Oh, and because Christmas carols are jolly and fun.  Even I can admit that.

I went up to NYC (Queens) to be with my great-aunt.  A lot of family members were there.  The food was amazing.  It was just how I imagined it would be.

My great-aunt's house, with the date stamp May 6 1906

Side note - without fail, every single time I get to around exit 10 on the NJ turnpike, me, or someone else in the vehicle, will say, "oh god, what's that smell?!"   The answer is always, "New Jersey."

Being the introvert I am, I am glad to now be at home and around no people, as my entire energy bucket was spent on socializing over the past couple of days.  I will need a while to recover.  Please leave a message.

I'm really starting to embrace my Netflix subscription.

I wonder what this season will hold.  I really can't tell.

Meanwhile, I suppose I'll just stare at all of the decorations around the city, and in stores, and buildings, and my neighbor's house (just wait till you see.  I'll take a good photo for you.) And I'll hope to feel something other than the need to burst out into Christmas carols.

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la, la, la.

Ice, Hiking, Swift

Exhibit A.

Ice

They are making an ice skating rink (click here to see) right outside of my building. It’s weird.

IM conversation with a colleague:

2:58 PM Colleague

Hello. I did crunches for the first time in weeks on Friday.  Now it hurts when I breathe.

2:58 PM Veronica

good.  :: grumpy cat ::

The Temp said that they are making the ice skating rink outside as a tribute to my ice cold heart. 

3:00 PM Colleague

He’s right on target with that.

3:00 PM Veronica

I know he is.

Hiking

Because of some stuff, I have recently not been able to be as active as I usually am.  But, now I am better, and am able to get back to regular activities, however, I have fallen out of the swing of things.  

So, when I had to run 7 blocks the other day (in heels) to get back to the office in time, by the time I got to the building, I was exhausted.  This is very unlike me.  So I decided that I needed to walk over the weekend, and Karen said she and her dog could join me.  

We went to Patapsco park, and got all 10,000 steps in for our Fitbits in a very short time.  I’m going to be honest with you – it was a hard hike.  There was actual climbing with my hands.  My legs were very sore the next day.  But it was a nice walk, and if you want to go on a hike with me, you’ve got my number. 

Don't fall...

Hell stairs.  They were half the size of me, they came up to my hip.

 Then, just as we were leaving the park and going to our car, a stray dog was walking down the street, so Karen flipped her freaking flip, and then we spent like another hour chasing this dog and lassoing and waiting for its owner to show up.  The dog was an older dog, and was very disoriented, and didn’t even register our existence for a while; it was just walking and walking, and then it went down into the river, and the whole chasing experience was basically horrible.  

But Karen chased her around, and finally lassoed the dog with a spare leash, and then we decided to just sit down right there on the trail to give the dog a change to chill out.  She didn’t let us near her head because she was too worked up and shaking and freezing, but after about 20 minutes, we were able to read the tag from a distance.  

On a related note, please make sure that your pet’s name tag is very clearly legible, not just engraved silver. Make sure it is something like white on green, or white on black, or black on pink, or something.  

We were sitting there for a very long time because it was so hard to make out the phone number.  But finally we did, and I called the owner, who was all, “oh, that silly dog,” and "oh, when she usually runs away," and acting like it was no big deal.  He also warned us to just stay put, as she is a chow mix, and might get a little aggressive, so we did the right thing by just sitting down for a long time and not pressuring her.  I have other things to say about the owner, but I shan’t.

Meanwhile, while we were sitting there on the frozen ground with our legs and butts totally numb, and Chance (Karen’s dog) totally behaving, the poor dog was howling.  She was howling when I was on the phone with her owner, and the owner said, “Is that her howling in the background?  I have never heard her make any noise.”  Again, I am going to avoid commentary.  So, after a while, we realized that we would not be able to silence her, so, if you can’t beat them, join them! 

Click to watch the video:

We were all singing, except Chance The Dog, who did not find this activity fun nor amusing.

The Taylor Swift

In other news, are you going to the Taylor Swift concert?  BECAUSE I AM!!!!   

Do you ever have moments when you are doing something, and in that moment, you have a small self-assessment moment – “What am I doing?  Is this my life??”  Even Taylor has moments like this.  Like when she was on Good Morning America (which I watch e’ery day, btw) and she said, “I’m performing in Times Square… What is my life right now???”   (Around 6:30 of this clip from GMA.) 

Well anyway, Kate and I were having one of those “What is my life right now??” moments whilst we were on the phone with each other purchasing Taylor Swift concert tickets.  There was squealing and other assorted noises as we clicked “Confirm Purchase.”  We  love her.  She’s like our invisible friend – she’s been on all of our road trips together, right there in the car singing along with us, and on all of our adventures, she’s been there.  

 Did you know that all the proceeds made from her single “Welcome to New York” from her new album “1989” are going to NYC public schools?  (NYC made her an official Ambassador.)  She is good.  

I can’t wait to meet her and instantly become BFF.   It’s only a matter of time now.

Oh hey, Melissa - I found your husband in Tinder.

 You're welcome.

Warm hands, Full House, Fabulous

Heart of Steel

Over the weekend, there was an indoor archery shoot at Mayberry, up in Westminster.  It was a pretty cold morning, and the furnace at their range was broken.  I am usually a very warm person.  I rarely get cold; I’m kind of a walking furnace.  

So people at the shoot were using me USING ME! for warmth, putting their cold hands (and noses) all over me to warm up.  They were saying, “Wow, it’s incredible!  You’re so warm!”  

Sue then said, “Well, you know what they say… [[ pregnant pause]] ‘Warm hands, cold heart’.“  

One lady thought for a second, and then started saying, “No, I don’t think that is right, I think it’s… the opposite.. right?”  And Sue and I both laughed and said, “No no, that’s the case.  It’s accurate.” 

Heart of Steel, NBD.

Full House

I’ve been doing a whole lot of nothing lately.  I’ve been having some medical issues, (which I will talk about later, if you insist) so I have not even been wearing my Fitbit most days!  

Therefore, I’ve been doing a lot of going home after work and staying home.  Of course, then I do other things, like paint my bathroom, but still, I’ve been doing a lot of staying home.  This has led me to watching a lot of Full House reruns, and other 90s sitcoms.  

I already boast a razor-sharp, professional-grade knowledge of Seinfeld, Friends, King of Queens, The Golden Girls, and Everyone Loves Raymond, but I am a little behind with ABC’s TGIF 90s lineup.  The good news is that Jen has the razor-sharp knowledge of those shows (Full House, Boy Meets World, Family Matters, etc.).   So, whilst I am doing whatever I am doing (painting, baking) and I hear inconsistencies in Full house, I know that I can send a question to Jen, and she’ll fire back an explanation.  It’s actually pretty funny.

Weeks later...

I think I’ll plan out getting out of the house more around February, so until then, come on over.  Smidgen, Cow and I will be watching Full House.  There’s a spot on the sofa for you.   Bring Chinese food. 

Not wealthy, still FAAABULOUUSSSSS

It occurs to me that people must think that I am so wealthy.  This could not be further than the truth.  I am just ridiculously blessed.  

This past Washington State trip, for example  - guess how much that cost me.  Go ahead, guess.  For a 7 day vacation across the country.

I’ll just tell you:

$359.66 – Hotel & Car

$8 – Parking

$24.19 – Gas

And then the cost of food & a sweatshirt, plus some food to take home for gifts – let’s call it $120. 

PLUS, don’t forget my extraordinary cost saving measures of having a flu and keeping us in one place for a whole day.  Again, YOU’RE WELCOME, KATE.  The things I do for us.

Also, when you can't afford something, timewise or cashwise, do what I do - Go up to someone and just start photographing them enjoying it.  They won't mind.

Piroshky Piroshky.  A wonderous place with an hour-long line.

The line wraps around.  Nope.  Ain't nobody got time fo' dat.

"Hello!  What did you get?  Can I smell it?"

"You gonna eat that? Okay, go slow. I'm capturing the moment."

"Oh, that's good... yeah... take a bite... what's it like??"

It's not weird at all.  It's a way to make friends.  YOU'RE WELCOME.  P.S. Do be sure that you are well dressed, as this does not work if you look like a homeless bum.

Airfare was in points and by point donation, and everything else was just dirt cheap and Pricelined, and then we just did stuff that doesn’t cost money.  Hiking through the forest doesn’t cost money.

And, just befriend and be nice to those around you, and you never know what will happen.  Look at this drink.

This drink contains:

• Bailey’s
• Kaluah
• Grey Goose
• Amaretto
• Dr. Pepper

And it was courtesy of the SO FLAMBOYANT flight attendant on my way out to Washington.  And he just kept refilling my little cup (and only me.)  

It’s been observed that there is just something about me that draws the gay guys to me.  I love it.  They must just recognize or sense that I love them and am a fierce ally.

This flight attendant was so wonderful.  You know how Southwest is famous for their flight attendant flight safety speeches?  His was really good.  It went something like:

“In the unlikely event that the captain decides to make Southwest Airlines into Southwest Cruise lines, please put the inflatable life vest over your head and pull… but for those of you who ABSOLUTELY must do things the difficult way, you can inflate the vest by blowing on the red rube.  The red tube, incidentally, is the same color red as the speedo I will be wearing later tonight in the hot tub in the hotel in San Diego, if you want to come and see me.  Once your vest is inflated, just kick-paddle-kick-paddle to the shore.  You’ll recognize us, we’ll be the ones who are well dressed, with the liquor safe, handing out those world famous fresh peanuts.  If you don’t like the jokes on this flight, there are 8 exits…  In the event of a loss of pressure, you’ll see these LOVELY, designed-by-Coach-Versace-and-Martha-Stewart saffron yellow masks come down… if you are traveling with children, WHY???   Put the mask over the one with the most potential, as they will be the one contributing to your retirement fund.  Remember that things shift in the overhead bins, and it is SO MUCH PAPERWORK for me when things fall on your head, so please be careful.  There is a $2,200 fee for smoking in the laboratory, and we know you don’t have that kind of money, otherwise you wouldn’t be flying Southwest.  Just as a REMINDER, if you marry one of us, you’ll fly for free, however, I must warn you that one of us is very high maintenance compared to the other three.”

Well anyway, it was amusing.

FYI, this is in the future.