Just a very bad wizard.

Just got back from the gym, where I ran on the treadmill for longer than I ever have before! Not really fast, but I think I beat my own personal record. And I didn't feel like dying. My hip twinged a little, not that much, and it doesn't hurt at all right now. Maybe it's the anti-inflammatory meds the doctor has put me on. They're like super Aleve. My hip has been hurting less, I think, though it hasn't completely gone away. The doctor said I should let him know how I feel mid-week. He's hesitant to subject me to an X-ray unless it's really necessary. I just want to stop worrying about it.

Saturday was my first training day at the CP Zoo. It was fun! The Zoo is a really nice place. Small, everything close together, but really nice exhibits and lots of animals to see. I'm really looking forward to learning about the animals and learning the "chats" we'll be giving to visitors. Volunteers are the ones who stand there and tell you facts about the animals while you're watching the zookeepers feed the animals, and they lead tours. There were lots of cute little kids at the zoo too. There's something really special about watching a child encounter a real polar bear for the first time, or come face to face with a bird bigger than its head. :) I suspect the place is especially pleasant in the winter, when it isn't that crowded. And I got to feed a sheep. The children's zoo has pot-bellied pigs! Next week I think I'll take some pictures.

Speaking of next week, only 4 more days till Nathan's here! I will feel a little bad having to wake up early Saturday morning to go to the zoo, and I will probably be leaving him to sleep in. He can meet me for lunch. I am really looking forward to that!

Last night my whole family went to Denise's for her Super Bowl Party. We missed the turn for the Palisades Parkway and what should have been no more than a 45-minute trip ended up taking 2 hours. Sheesh. Luckily, we didn't kill each other, and we left early enough that all we missed was the anthem. There were lots of snacks and lots of little Cowface Flutie and Tom Petty sang "I Won't Back Down" and one football guy through the ball a loooooong way to another football guy, and that guy caught the ball and didn't drop it even when people jumped on him. Even I could tell that was an exciting thing. And the score went back and forth just enough to keep the game exciting, and the New York Giants won, and everyone (well, everyone I care about) was happy and it was good. :)

Nathan (finally) passed his road test! Yay. Now maybe we can drive around in the Lake District instead of relying on buses and trains. :)

It's day 6 (of 11) of Nathan's stay...strange how it feels like he's been here so long and I keep reminding myself he's still here for 5 more days. I guess when the break ended, it felt like his stay was ending too, but not the case. Right now I'm at work (doing pretty much nothing) while he's walking around the city, going to museums, and taking in the sights. I'm jealous. I knew I couldn't take off the first day back from break but being here feels so pointless right now.

I made a list of things for us to do, and with all we've done in the past few days, I'm amazed at how much is still left on this list. Even some things that were must-dos.

Things to do in NYC with Nathan( Read more... )

What we did do: ( Read more... )

My morning was leaning toward the sucky, with having the usual scramble to get out of the house on time, hating all my clothes, and a sneezing fit as I was running out the door, but then I got the funniest email from Nathan in a long time. First let me explain that Nathan is not very internet-savvy and doesn't do or really understand "smileys."

:) - Oh my god! I've never used one of those before, I feel a bit weird, like I'm in some sort of e-mail/internet cool club. I'll have a go at some more:

:( - Unhappy person
%) - road accident victim
;) - AH! that's a wink!
:>) - big, pointy nose
?) - Pirate patch
}:) - big beetley eye brows


Ok, well I think it's cute anyway. And the rest of the email was sweet too. He said he hates having "arguments" with me. I wasn't even sure we'd had an argument exactly, but okay. :b

I feel I should give a review of my weekend, though I'm feeling lazy so...

S'MAC: It was good, of course! I had the Spanish one with manchego cheese, shallots, and fennel. It was interesting. Next time I think I'll do the build-your-own mac and cheese.

Mew/Secret Machines/Bloc Party at McCarren Park Pool: The pool is a cool venue for concerts. I recommend. Though it was pretty much agreed that the place would be even better if they lined the bottom of the pool with that same squishy matting they have in playgrounds. There's still paint peeling from the ground and it looks like it would be a really unfriendly place to fall down onto. Which is exactly what a few crowd surfers did, heh. And the whole pool venue makes for a lot of silly jokes: "Everybody out of the pool!" Or, possibly quote of the night, Kele Bloc Party: "It says no diving. Fuck that shit." (After which he proceeded to get down from the stage and bridge the "moat" to the audience, though he didn't actually jump in -- he knew better.)

Mew was great but they only played 4 songs! We think it's because they let us in late and they started 15 minutes late. Granted their songs are long, but 4? And no "Apocalypso," WTF? I feel even more sorry now that I missed them at Hiro Ballroom last Wednesday. They need to come back. And Secret Machines were...YAWN Machines, I thought. Bloc Party was great but I was surprised that they only played 2 new songs (or at least it was 1 new song and 1 I didn't recognize), and no "Two More Years"! It's been over a year since I saw them last (in NYC) so you'd think they'd switch it up a bit, but no. Oh well, it was still fun. When they came back on stage for the encore they brought Super Soakers which they shot at the audience. I was in front of Russell, who had a little squirt gun, which just made him look even more like a little girl (ittie bittie mantitties!). :)

Then on Sunday I did work, made an amazing fruit salad (secret ingredient: rum!) and talked to Nathan, who left this morning for a week-long bicycle trip around the Isle of Lewis with his brother. They're driving up to Skye, leaving the car in Uig and taking the ferry to Lewis. I am way way way jealous. And I'm going to have to give Nathan grief when he gets back because he once told me he had no interest in going to Scotland when I proposed that we go there on vacation. Yeah, whatever! :P!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGUUUUGHGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Thank you and good night.

I've seen love go by my door
It's never been this close before
Never been so easy or so slow.
Been shooting in the dark too long
When something's not right it's wrong
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Dragon clouds so high above
I've only known careless love,
It always has hit me from below.
But this time 'round it's more correct
Right on target, so direct,
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Purple clover, Queen Anne lace,
Crimson hair across your face,
You could make me cry if you don't know.
Can't remember what I was thinkin' of
You might be spoilin' me too much, love,
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Flowers on the hillside, bloomin' crazy,
Crickets talkin' back and forth in rhyme,
Blue river runnin' slow and lazy,
I could stay with you forever
And never realize the time.

Situations have ended sad,
Relationships have all been bad.
Mine've been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud.
But there's no way I can compare
All them scenes to this affair,
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go.

You're gonna make me wonder what I'm doin',
Stayin' far behind without you.
You're gonna make me wonder what I'm sayin',
You're gonna make me give myself a good talkin' to.

I'll look for you in old Honolulu,
San Francisco, Ashtabula,
You're gonna have to leave me now, I know.
But I'll see you in the sky above,
In the tall grass, in the ones I love,
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go.

-Bob Dylan

( Pictures )