Less Time, More Money

Cirque Du Soleil is coming to Hartford in June/July and I definatly want to go. I usually like to buy tickets right away (I have waited in line for many a Phish show), but for some reason I have been a slacker and didn't buy the tickets till about a week after they went on sale.

Finally, I jumped online and put in my purchase - two tickets for the June 29th show. The tickets are a little off to the side but look good still. The price difference was minimal, but I requested "best seats available" and that's what they had. I checked a couple of different days to make sure I couldn't get super close. It wasn't easy though. What's up with "don't use the back button"? If that is the case then I shouldn't have to start from ground zero each time.

Speaking about the insane. What is up with all the fees they tack onto the cost of the ticket. If the ticket is $56, and I get e-tickets, the final cost per ticket should be $56. Not an additional service charge and handling fee equal to 14%. I should be the charging the handling fee because they never touch my tickets until I get to the show. I am the one who is paying for the paper and ink. I mean it just doesn't make any sense, I got an e-ticket.

On top of that, they alert you with every screen "You must complete the transaction in five minutes...three minutes...one minute". It makes me so high stress. I didn't even feel like I had a second to comprehend how much the tickets were. No second thoughts! I think that is all part of the master plan. I bought tickets to Field Day in Long Island and it is the same thing, only ticketmaster was worse with the added fees and allowed a shorter timespan per screen. All seems a bit of a fishy relationship - more fees=less time to think

Time to Say Goodbye

At work today, Josephine and I finally decided to clear out the company fridge. Granted neither one of us was about to clean off the caked in Diet Coke that has been there so long it hardened up. You would need a knife to get that up. Instead, we went for the old and expired food. There is a salad that has been in there for a month and oranges that have shriveled more than, well just a lot okay. The big topper was the orange juice though, which expired in July 2001. I wanted to take a picture but the desire to hold it for as few millaseconds as possible was more important. I have never seen such a science experiment. The acid from the orange juice had actually started to decompose the carton. It is mystery food all over again.

And, no we didn't dare open up the container.

"I came back as a bag of groceries accidentally taken off the shelf before the expiration date" - TMBG

Movin On Up

The final goodbye to my humble abode is here. It is kind of sad and exciting.

Things I won't miss

• The creepy neighbors including: the lady next door yelling at her son at 6:00am "wash your face!"; the guy with OCD who methodically removes each shoe outside his place; the mentally challanged fellow who could talk for 20 minutes about drawing classes that he already told you about (actually I started running so who the hell knows?); the couple who park on either side of our parking space and are always parking over the white line and boxing us in; and the kingpin wierdo that lives upstairs and is always there, always knows everyone's business and is always smoking in the hallway


• Having to open four doors and three locks to bring in groceries


• The lack of airflow in the summer, don't let the large porch windows fool you


• Paying $2.50 for each load of laundry

Things I will miss

• The short commute. When the time it takes you to get to work increases three fold, its a no brainer


• Great water pressure and the removable shower head


• Being able to walk to COJones, AC Petersons, 7-Eleven or anywhere cool for that matter


• Did I already mention the commute?


Posted by Chris at 07:58 AM | Comments (2)

Mystery Can - Day 6

The home strech, finally. I am so close I can taste it. Oh wait that is just the collard greens resurfacing. Eeewwww.

After I ground up the collard greens yesterday (Allie couldn't even remember what was in that mystery can, but my mom made a good guess) I swear I was smelling them everywhere. I had the exhaust fan on for a solid two hours trying to get it out of the kitchen. I ran the garbage disposal for an eternity and every time I was over there the smell was haunting me. I won't even mention the taste in my mouth after burping. Well, I guess I did just kind of mention it. It wasn't pretty.

Diner was curtosy of mom and dad. They offered to eat some of the can, as long as it was something yummy. Hmmm, what are my chances of that? If I told you I wasn't scared, well I'd be lieing.

Mom and Dad prepared a little chicken on the grill, salad and veggie rice. So I popped open the can... Chinese veggies! Is this all you have Allie? Come on! You can do better than this. (Granted the only reason I am ranting is because it is over.) There are even water chestnuts in there. I love water chestnuts.

Well, mystery can is over and like any bad joke, I am just glad I survived. What have I learned? - I prefer cans clothed in wonderful labels; I am not a fan of collard greens or that slop that is actually not chickpea soup; 7.5 ounces of anything gross is too much; and Allie is not such a bad friend afterall.

How was Allie's last day?

Mystery Can - Day 5

I left work early today and I think I'll have my mystery can for lunch. My main course... a sausage link sandwich on a portuguese roll. Yum! That is one of my favorite lunches. Come on Allie, don't screw me up. Can choice - the gold one.

Ok, this is not what I had in mind. When I opened the can there was a really wierd smell and I didn't want to lift up the lid. I think it might be spinach. I really like spinach, but this is all wet and it actually resembles wet leaves and twigs. Maybe I can somehow hide this in the bottom of my sandwich and have the sausage drowned out the smell.

Gobble, Gobble - Alright, this can whooped my butt. I thought I could eat a bite of the sandwich and then shovel in a bunch of the spinach. This worked somewhat except the spinach is too wet and all attempts to strain, drain, and dry it were futile. Nothing like soggy spinach to ruin my meal. The second half of my can and my sandwich have seen the inside of my garbage disposal and my teeth are freshly brushed.

Mystery Can - Day 4

Allie, Kev, Josephine and I went out to COJones after work for a couple of margarittas. Kev and I were splitting the California Chicken Buritto and must have waited like 25 minutes. In the end we decided to get it 'to go', besides happy hour was over so there were no more half priced margarittas. I brought home the buritto half to go with my mystery can. Excellent, my diner is prepared. I was eyeing the can with contents that don't jiggle... refried beans?? Score! Oh yeah!

How sweet is that? Talk about a perfect match! I downed the buritto and the beans as if it was planned by the gods. If only each meal can could be so well designed.

Four cans down, two to go!

See how Alie's Day went

Mystery Can - Day 3

Two down, four to go. I had one of those days where I definitely got up on the wrong side of the bed and with minimal REM to boot. I can only imagine this is a prelude to my can choice. Two days in a row I have ended positive. Like an athlete who wears the same socks every game, I don't really want to stray from my veggie burger, but I must. Maybe I should change my socks, too.

My diner choice for the night is garlic and butter chicken tenders and a side of pasta. What am I hoping for? green beans. Magic Eight Ball, what are my chances? 'Outlook not so good.'

The can choice. Two days in a row I just grabbed. Tonight I want to examine. It is interesting how different naked cans can look. The line structure is totally different and then there is one gold can. It all comes down to the shake test. Green beans would need just the right amount of water. One of them appears to have no water at all (hmmmm...). But I choose the one that makes something of a gulping noise upon fierce shaking.

Maybe I shouldn't have changed my socks?

Alright, this is definitely not green beans. Nope, it is milky, odorless and light brown. I knew there'd be some slop! Maybe I can convince myself this is chickpea soup. Quick FYI, not a big chick pea fan although I do enjoy the hummus. I took a quick sip to see how it was and um not quite to my liking but edible. There are some odd skins, like from teeny tiny onions but I can still think they are chick pea skins. Maybe microwaving it will help kill all the flavor.

Wow, it is amazing what the micro can accomplish, definitely tolerable. Only it does not go with my garlic butter chicken or my pasta. You've got to do what you've got to do to safe face, so I put those aside and concentrate just on the slop.

Microwave, round 2. The slop actually exploded and I figured that was enough time. You know eating only that without interruption, it wasn't bad. Don't get me wrong I will never eat this again and the distinctly different can sounds give me a little relief that it won't all be like this.

See how Allie's day went

Mystery Can - Day 2

I decided to line up the cans by expiration date, then eat either the most quick or least quick to expire. I lined up the five cans I have left and only one has an expiration date. In this situation, I think an exipration date might be a good thing. What is in those other cans that they don't expire?? Again I decided not to think about it and just grabbbed one.

Veggie burger worked for me yesterday, so why not two days in a row? I had a first course appitizer and a margaritta at happy hour so I am hopefully prepared. I opened the can and...it appears to be corn and lima beans. Note I say "appears" since those lima beans look a little odd. In any normal situation this would make me really happy. I actually love lima beans and corn. Instead I am only more nervous, fearing the storm after the calm. Allie didn't suggest this game so she could give me cans of stuff I actually like to eat. That would be too easy and not be in the spirit of the game.

Half the can went down wonderfully, and it was perfect with the veggie burger. Wish me luck for tommorow.

Mystery Can - Day 1

Allie read about Mystery Can and decided we had to do it. Seems like it could get pretty cruel, so I figured what the hell? We each went to the grocery store (seperately) and picked out six cans to swap. The way it works is you take off the labels and swap cans with your friend (not for long after they eat what you gave them). You tell them about any special heating instructions (ex. add two cans water...). Although the originator's made it seven days we decided to just do six with one "get out of jail free" day. All of our cans are vegitarian free and beet free (eeeewww!).

The Big Rules:

• One can per day


• You prepare your meal first and then open up the can


• You must eat half of it's contents. And you are supposed to take a picture (I forgot the camera at work so you miss out .)

I decided for Day 1, I would eat a veggie burger. Seems like the type of food that could go with anything. Which can to open? I decided not to shake, didn't even thing about it, just grabbed from the top. The suspense - Cranberry Sauce. Yeah, I love Cranberry Sauce. I finished just over half the can. That is a lot of sauce! On thanksgiving I can't get enough, but without the Turkey it just isn't the same.

Ok, now I feel bad for that one can from the foreign isle. Or did I just pick the best can and have slop for the next five days?

Decisions, Decisions

Save or Toss? Toiletries are the worst. I have bought so many hair products that promise this or that and cost a fortune to boot. So I tuck them away in hopes that, well in hopes that they will disappear. But they don't and when you are clearing out - there they are again. Pack em up and bring them on to the next local to sit on the back of a shelf or just say screw it and show them the inside of the trash can? I hate to waste, but I guess I'll be saving the energy it would require to carry these freeloaders all over the place.

Clothes too. What is the protocol here? If I have lived here for 2.5 years and never worn it once, is there still hope that I'll find the perfect pair of pants to wear with it. You know I would have worn it if I knew it was there, hidding behind all my favorites. I actually had two heaping piles of clothes to give away and to look at the closet you certianly wouldn't have guessed.

Let's just torch the whole place and start over from scratch. Not quite cost effective but a whole lot more interesting.

ID Please

By the way, when Allie and I met up with Josephine at the bar on Friday, the bar tender carded us although didn't card Josephine (she got there earlier) and after pointed at me and said "she looked young". I am 26, so he questioned 5+ years of my existance. Can't remember the last time I got carded.

They are supposed to card everyone at sporting events now. I remember a couple years back going to something with my Dad and they even carded him. Uh, doesn't the grey beard give it away?

Working for a Living

One of the things I like best about my job is the flexibility. I want to go in a little late - that's ok, leave a little early on Friday - ok too. As long as the job gets out when it's supposed to I have quite a bit of leeway with the time factor.

I am under the gun with the assignment I'm working on now, though. I worked late a bunch of times this week and even went to work for a half day today. Sad thing is I'll probably be there tomorrow too. It’s an odd thing, going to work on the weekend. No traffic, quiet office. Luckily we didn't have any exciting plans for the weekend. I wanted to go to Portland or NYC to see friends, but we'll have to reschedule those adventures.

The good news is that I went in when it was rainy and gross and made it out for sunshine.

Highest Bidder Takes All

I got to the apartment after work today and happened in on a real estate agent showing a prospective tenant my place. It's an odd thing, being there while they look at your place. I would really rather they scheduled appointments while I"m not here. Actually, I thought the appointment was at 5:00 and this was at ten to 6. The real estate agents have been going crazy with at least five people brought in here over the past two weeks and two coming tommorow.

Hats off to the Huskies

Went to watch the game tonight at Sliders in Berlin and it seemed like a bunch of people had the same idea. It was a great atmosphere and the sound was wicked loud. I don't get ESPN at home, so I had to venture out with a couple of girlfriends to watch the huskies have a tremendous game against Tennessee. It was awesome to see some of the other players really step it up along with Diana, who is really just unbelievable.

I can't remember for sure, but I don't think UConn was ever losing and that makes it a wonderful game! When the time ran out, the whole bar gave a hoot and holler and loud cheer/clap. I love the atmosphere, it is totally much better than sitting at home to watch the game alone. Although there aint nothin wrong with that (that's what I did last night for the mens game).

Duped by Daylight Savings

I stayed at my parents on saturday and sunday night so I had to change the clocks when I got back to the apartment last night. I noticed because I was confused that I got home at 4:47, when I left work at 5:20. At first I thought maybe we had lost power because of the crazy storm (hahaha, crazy storm that amounted to a two inch covering). Of course I forgot to change the clock in my bedroom, the alarm clock.

Stayed up later than normal last night watching the ncaa tournament, which was great and I was happy when Syracuse won. They were much more consistent throughout the game, although I really wanted McNamara to break the 3-point basket record. He was on fire in the first half.

This morning when the alarm went off, I realized it was really 8:00, not 7:00. I rushed around and made it in to work by 9:00. The great thing about this company is that there are only eight of us and no one keeps a straight schedule so the snow and the game kept a bunch of people home late and my tardiness goes unnoticed.

The long and short

My adventure at the casino: Instead of desiring a nice cool alcholic drink I was definatly in the mood for a fabulous piece of chocolate cake. They have the best resaurants at the Sun and I love a good dessert. Of course all the ones with the best chocolate cake didn't allow take out and the lines are super long and besides I wanted to hang out with my friends in the cheap bar while I ate the cake. I settled for a cookie dough sandwich from the Michael Jordan Cafe. Although it was good, the cake is what I was after.

I jetted early because I am doing the MS walk tommorow with my mom (ain't that sweet?) and with the time change and all I don't want to be too tired. But on my way out I decided to toss in the two quarters that were burning a hole in my wallet, the wicked cute one I got from Allie. I must of walked around for at least five minutes looking for a $0.25 slot that wasn't guarded by the crazed maniacs or just plain in use. Finally a lady got up and left me her machine and a blazin hot seat to boot. This normally would have turned me off, but I figured I only have two quarters so I half sat.

Long story short, I left there $11.50 richer. Kind of made me feel whole again after the stupid cake incident. Can I please get a piece of death by chocolate cake?

The Belay is On!

Amy and i went rock climbing today and we kicked butt. Ok so when the instructor was telling me to go higher I was thinkin I was high enough (three feet from the floor). There were so many kids in the place for a birthday party we almost did a U-turn at the door. But curiosity and maybe stupidity kept us there and then after they charged us we were definatly in for the long haul.

It was some great weather for indoor rock climbing, cold and rainy. Yuck. On my last trip up the wall, I got to touch the top. No I did not proceed to the ceiling. Let's stay vertical for the first adventure. It is funny how low the walls look when you are standing on the floor and then you try to climb and it is just like "look how far I made it" and you are hmmm, like 4 feet from the floor.

I really liked hanging from the rope and swinging. We weren't quite monkeys but we were pretty decent by the end. If we were pros right away, what would be the fun in that?

Phila

So the girls and I made it to Philidelphia to see Angela for one day of good food, good sites and plain good fun. I wanted really badly to get to see the steps Rocky runs up while training "dada dadadadadadadaaaaa" Somehow, I mixed up and although we went to the infamous site (the Phili Museam of Art), I thought the steps were in a different place and so we never went out the front door. So although we toured the museam and checked out so much of the inside we never made it out the front door. That is like going to the carnival and not getting cotton candy or ordering pasta at a steak house, we missed out on the best part!

We took the Phlash around town a downtown loop service. It was $4 for an entire day of travels, which was great because after the drive down and anticipating the drive back, I was definately not in the mood to drive around town. Of course we got a Philly Cheese Steak, which was amazing! Can I have another? And for diner we went to the Continental. Allie, do you recommend the Strawburst? They served Tapas there, so we ordered six, between the four of us and split them. What an excellent system? And dessert, I have been in the hugest dessert mood lately, was a giant s'more that was fantastic. Screw cooking them over a fire!

I loved the city and definatly recommend!