Pics From The Weekend....

I did not have my camera with me this weekend - I kept leaving it in the car, what was wrong with me? I always love taking pictures. Nevertheless, there was one in the group who brought her camera and took pictures relentlessly - thank goodness! Thanks for the memories, Raguel!

The guys (from left): Scott, LeBeau, Steven

The ladies (from left): Bodine, Teresa, Ruth & Marie, and Raguel (standing)

I’ve Had The Time Of My Life….

Wow. (As Chabba used to say some years back as young kid new to America. What ever happened to that guy?) I just came back from an AWESOME weekend. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. The thing is, I’m staying in a hotel alone…and was starting to feel lonely. So some friends decided to meet up in Orlando and go to Wet & Wild water park. Oh yeah, and this one cool girl booked a 2 bedroom suite at The Enclave for us ladies. Prices came out to $25 per person-Sweet!

I had so much fun at the water park. The day was cloudy – and that made it great because it was nice and breezy. There were less people than usual, so the wait wasn’t too bad. And my favorite ride there was “The Disco.” It was cool because, you go down this black large tube with 3 other buddies, and there are flashing lights and music playing as you go down. And like the other water park in Long Island, it was like a giant toilet bowl in the end. There was another nice ride, where you lay on a mat and go down squiggly tubes on your stomach - that was pretty sweet. At the end of the day, we showered and freshened up and ate dinner at a buffet. We went to one of the people in our group’s friend’s house and then went back to our 2 bedroom suite and crashed. I slept like a rock. They usually have a lot of families rent these suites, so I slept in the room decorated with Sponge Bob! I thought of doing that theme in one of my guest bedrooms - just kidding. The next day (today) we went to a breakfast buffet for $4 per person. Some old fog-I mean people in the group went home early. (I am just kidding, seriously!) But myself and 3 others went to the mall nearby (Valley voice: Totally awesome, the mall is like, the best thing ever!). It was really fun because it had stores we don’t usually have. I bought incense at this cool bead store called black market minerals. Oh and check this out:

Click here because blogger is giving me photo uploading problems...

We all went nuts for these magnetic necklaces/bracelets. They are made from Hematite and mixed with glass beads and silver accents. They are so beautiful I bought a few to give to my mom & aunts & grandma. They don't require any claps. You can wrap it around your wrist or make funky designs. Highlight of my day.

One of the ladies decided to get a mani/pedi – and I did it with her. It was soooo relaxing. I had the paraffin wax thing, just to try it. And it’s really nice. Wasn’t cheap (like I mentioned in my previous post) but it was pretty darn therapeutic. We ate dinner at Tony Roma’s, and went our separate ways. It was great because when you do these 1 day things where you go to a park and then go home the same day, it doesn’t feel like you were away. I feel refreshed, energized, and most importantly, I feel like I had a real weekend away. Now that I’m pretty confident about driving around in Florida, I will have to duplicate this trip for visitors. And will mix it up with all the cool new people I’m meeting here!

It's a small world, one of the sisters that came with us said she had a sister who lived in Astoria for a short period of time. She wouldn't say the name, because I wouldn't know who she was. Well that wasn't the case! Her sister is Diane Zambrano - and yes, she was in Astoria English briefly! I knew of her from a distance. Small world.

No Matter Where You Go....

It seems that nobody has manicure/pedicures cheaper than NY. Is it because there are so many nail salons in NY, that they have to be competitive? Sometimes, there is like a nail salon on every other block (on the main avenues at least). Suburbia is wack.

Exhausted...But Mind Is Wide Awake

Today I was supposed to leave at noon, but it took me six hours to get my act together. So I had a late start on a 4 hour journey. I chose not to stop, but to keep going - it was a race on time, that I ended up losing. My trip was interesting, 2 hours into my drive I felt as if I were in the back woods of Tennessee or something instead of central Florida. I saw fields, cows grazing, I passed mailboxes - and tried to crane my neck to see what houses the paths lead to. I even passed a dude ranch. A DUDE RANCH. Oh, and I saw a sign that read "Panthers Crossing." Wish I got a chance to take a shot of that.

Some friends want to go to "Wet & Wild" this Saturday. It's about 3 hours from them and about 2 hours from where I'm staying. I'm down with it. I recently went to a water park and a had a great time. But I also remember the end of the day when you are tired of walking around half naked...

So I'm in the hotel room right now...Just chillaxing. Back To The Future 2 is on TV...I've seen these movies a hundred times and have no idea why I like it so much. I think its a mixture of things, I was always enraptured by the time travel thing, and Michael J. Fox is endearing. The 3rd one stunk, but in a way it wrapped things up. I still think the Delorean is the coolest thing - even now in 2006. Great Scott!

I have to sleep, omigoodness. I have to wake up early, but my brain is so awake, especially since I am in an unfamiliar place away from home. Sometimes when alone in a hotel room, I sleep with the TV on - just for company.

...I would love to time travel back to the eighties, when I was a little girl. Get an apartment across the street from where I lived, and just watch the activity...

Move Along

I passed by our old house yesterday and THIS (see pic) is what's left of it! :**(

It made me so sad....I always said I wished the new owner knocked it down because I didn't want anyone living there, but to see it like that was hard. It represented to me, the beginning of my new life...

It's good practice - not to be too attached to houses and possessions - although obviously I wasn't attached to that house because of it's comforts-lol. It was a old piece of crap house, but we had fun in the backyard. I really liked living there....I didn't mind the basement at all. My cats loved it, they were out practically everyday, and it was good because they were pretty much contained back there, although Max jumps roofs. Barbecues were fun to have - outdoor Karaoke & movies were great - it's like we didn't have enough time to enjoy it to it's full potential of summer activities. Oh well. Move along.

Stones Taught Me To Fly, Love Taught Me To Cry, Life Taught Me To Die....

I'm really enjoying Damien Rice's album - and just found out yesterday that this album has been out for a couple of years. Where have you been all my life? Ha. It's just so sad that we get bombarded with mainstream crap when all this good stuff is hidden underneath pop madness.

As much as I can appreciate a good beat, nothing really touches me deep inside as singer/songwriter's music. You can hear the passion in their voices, the intensity of the guitar as they play... And I'm sorry, I don't see talent in any "Artist" who sings a song that someone else wrote. Basically anyone with voice lessons can hold a decent note.

I had a great time last night...we were entertained with simple things that do not cost anything. Moments like that makes me think about how happy we will be in the future...

Some Pics of LA

Flying over the Grand Canyon:


This is the place where they don't cook the food:

This is a concept they have yet to do in Astoria, a Laundrymat/Cafe/Sandwich spot! The soup and sandwich I had were superb. What a nice way to spend time waiting for your clothes to dry!

Good Brazillian food/little Brazil motel....

Under The Bridge

Dag. L.A. is full of bums! They must have the highest concentration of bums, 'cause they're everywhere. And they ask - not for a quarter, or a dollar - but $5 dollars! Could you believe it?

Well, the flight here was good. A cute little girl who spoke french & english sat next to me. She immediately made me her friend. She got annoying after a while, but she was very cute. I thought I would feel very trapped for 6 hours, but I guess I geared myself up mentally for the long haul and it seemed to go by fairly painless. Flying over the Grand Canyon was SO cool!

I haven't done any sightseeing, but I can tell you California is overrated. Well, let me NOT speak too soon. I'm sure the other parts must be lovely. Coming from a big city like New York, L.A. is tiny in comparison. And I was quite surprised that they did not have as much food variety as we do, and they don't have deli's like New York does. I had an afternoon snack craving and asked someone where a deli was. As I saw them scratching their head and staring blankly, I said to myself: uh-oh. Yes, we New Yorkers are very spoiled with our conveniences.

I must come back and visit other places. Oh yeah, the first day I was here, I went to this place across my hotel called "Leaf" It was this vegan place, and I saw a sign where it had pictures saying no beef, chicken, egg, and I saw a picture of a flame with them also. I was bewildered, but too tired to ask. Well, I ordered and received my food - it was cold. Turns out that flame picture, meant they don't cook their stuff either. It's a vegan place where they eat food raw. So the "pasta alfredo" I ordered? Was actually made of shredded squash. Man, I was so zonked out and so hungry, I ate as much as I could (even though it was not that appetizing). Next time I go there, it would be for a smoothie or wheatgrass shot. I like my food warm.

What To Do On A 6 Hour Flight?

Hey guys, looking for suggestions on what to do on a LONG flight. I fly tomorrow to LA and have not taken a long flight since going to London some years back. I will have tv, but that gets old after a while. I will bring my ipod, a book (Jasper-Thursday #3), and a notebook to write although I have limited privacy with people probably sitting on my right & left. Oh, I'm also a crappy sleeper on planes. My boss wants to do some work so I'll be praying for that laptop battery to die-ha ha.

Here are some suggestions I saw on someone else's blog:

- Make the whole plane sing school bus songs
- Force the person next to you to play a game of go fish (or maybe mini checkers).
- Seduce the pilot
- Wear a t-shirt that says, “I’m with stupid.”
- Make sure you’re sitting in such a way that it points toward your seat mate.
- Play chess by yourself and act completely upset when you make a good move.
- Read a book upside down.
- Bubble wrap. Lots and lots of bubble wrap. Pop them slowly… one… at… a… time.
- Bring a kazoo.
- Two words: “Paddle Ball”.

LOL...

Highlights

My grandma has a new couch...makes the place look more homey. Sun Bathing Beauties....
...They also preform
Took a trip...

Made new friends...(This kitty appeared out of nowhere. I gave him milk and he stuck around all night. He was so ugly, it made him cute. I named him Charlie).
Charlie likes to entertain.

Most Recently Played

This song, "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice is a song that's currently on repeat on my ipod. Listen to the whole thing by clicking on the song name on this page.

It's so simple, bare and haunting....

Afternoon

MacArthur Beach

I've been meaning to post pics of this beautiful little private beach, MacArthur Beach State Park. Theres much that I have yet to do, like kayak and visit their nature center. I only went once, but in that one time I was so impressed by the long wooden bridge. It was a nice walk despite lugging a beach umbrella and chair. I didn't even end up using the umbrella because I hung underneath the shade as you can see from this first picture. While walking over the bridge, to my great excitement, I experienced seeing flying fish for the first time ever! It was awesome...although fleeting. You'd hear the spash, and darn you missed one. The shore is a little rocky...but I usually like to take a short dip followed by a nap on the sand. :) Nature is so soothing.

Hola....

I've been MIA from this blog for a while...Not because of being
terribly busy, but because I spend the whole day on the
computer, and when I get home I'm just not in the mood.
Yesterday Gata & I went to Mundo, this really cute open sort
of restaurant in Astoria (you have to say "Astoria" the way the
Manhattanites do...Like with a question mark). It was really
nice because you could get away with not spending a lot if you
wanted to. I like the chicken thing I got.

I do miss being in Florida. I got so used to everything there...I
made friends and was a total beach bum. There was just no
better way to spend a warm day, then to take a dip and then
nap on the sand. It's much better on the nerves. Here in NY, I
noticed immediately after I landed how much it stinks - literally!
The air quality is really bad here and I don't mean to sound
like a snob because I really love the city, but DANG (yes I said
dang). Ha ha. The weather now is getting better, but it does
not feel one bit like June! I'd say it feels more like going into
fall. But whatever. A sticky, muggy city ain't fun anyway.

I have a friend looking after the house, and I hear my ant
problem is getting worse. Gotta call Terminix again. These
darn ants were making paths and taking over! I got the house
sprayed and it nixed the problem...For a little while anyway. I
left all my fun summery clothes in Florida, and have reason to
shop, ha. Ooh...gotta tell you about Shoe Carnival. Don't be
fooled by it's simplistic, corny name! This place was
awesome! I got 4 pairs of shoes for under $60. And two were
well known name brands! (Nine West & Aerosoles). So I
couldn't bring myself to spend $40 on a sandal in NY. As bad
as I do need a pair...Because I am wearing out this one pair
that I have that goes w/ almost anything I wear.

So that's the 411 peeps. LOL....

What Word Will You Use?