Someplace familiar
I'm back, but in the very loose sense of the word. I've been up here in New Hampshire for nearly a week, and already realize that Live Journal time will have to be cut back to weekends, and even then, there's no guarantee.
I'll save workshop thoughts for another entry. This entry is about Baltimore and the wedding. Not sure how many of you care, but that's okay, cause I'm writing about it anyway.
I've always been the kind of girl who hates getting lost. As in an adamant, fearful, unrational kind of hate. We all have those sorts of fears, but my shtick has always been I MUST KNOW WHERE I'M GOING. Ironic, sense at this point in my life, I've been treading on with little to no direction.
Anyway.
Before I leave, I get addresses, I talk to people, I download maps from Mapquest, even buy my own map of the VA area (since that included DC), so that I wouldn't get lost. I think this idea of renting a car and driving around in an unfamiliar location was the main source of my anxiety last week.
I shouldn't have gotten so out of shape. Not only did the Enterprise provide me with super-stellar directions to get to Gaithersburg (where I would meet up and have a wonderful lunch with kirroyale), I had the magic clipboard that became even MORE magical once kirroyale gave me her map of the state (well, borrowed. I need to mail the sucker back). Thanks to that map, I made it to Westminster without any previous maps to guide me, and then trotted my way back to Baltimore to pick up emerald_ibis at BWI. Piece of cake, and I mean that in the most honest, boastful way possible. Course, it didn't hurt that Baltimore's signage makes loads of sense to me, and that the directions were clear-cut, even on the map.
Unfortunately, but my wicked cool driving skills came to a dead-halt as soon as night hit, along with the lovely drizzle that makes watching the road nothing more than a big glare fest. Wendy and I had already missed the wedding rehearsal, as her flight was delayed, and were on our way to the rehearsal dinner. We were sort of late for that too, but figured we'd only be about ten, fifteen minutes late. Unfortunately, the devil went the wrong direction on the road and it took us ten minutes to figure that out. Then, once we found the right way to go, I was so obsessed with NOT missing my turn that I ran a red light. And I don't mean the kind of red light that was first green, then yellow, then red, but the kind that was red the whole time, and I just never noticed. Fortunately, the gods of travel were on our side, because by time I realized what Wendy was screaming at me (poor girl, she had a rough day), we were already in the middle of the intersection going a bit faster than we should, but the light turned green, which means it was likely that the traffic that should've hit us was slowing down for a yellow light when I disregarded my own light.
Glad no one on that side ran THEIR yellow light. Glad I didn't rear-end someone either.
We got to the rehearsal an hour late, but in time for a fun dessert. Then we marched over to TGI Friday's for a truly unacceptable dinner, and went back to the hotel feeling grumpy, tired, and unsure of going to DC the next day (which was the plan).
We ended up not going. Not only did we sleep in, but we realized our room was a breeding ground for mold, thanks in part to the air conditioner that was leaking water INSIDE the hotel room, making it wet and damp. Poor devil woke up with a headache. Wendil went to the front counter to give them her "This is not acceptable" speech (which she got very good at during the course of this trip, between the airport delay and the TGI episode), and we got a new room.
But I don't think I'll be staying at the Ramada Inn in Pikesville ever again. I don't care how cheap it is.
Friday was spent at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. We didn't make it to the aquarium, as we got side-tracked by the museum of science and its Titanic exhibit, which was freaking awesome and moving. If you live in the area, check it out. We also got to see the dinosaurs (yay!) and a fun little presentation in the planetarium by a guy who had food on the brain (he kept making ice-cream cones and pizza slices out of the constellations). We then trekked around to the two-story Barnes and Noble, which was a novelty in and of itself, but disappointing in selection...I didn't find much more there than I would expect to find in the regular Knoxville one, save for a cd/dvd department. We ended the day with a lovely dinner at Uno's (which a kick-ass chocolate-chip cookie dessert we finished in less than five minutes), and a walk around the harbor.
Baltimore is really a lovely place. Even when I did get sort of misdirected.
Saturday was fairy tale day, where Wendil and I got our hair braided by this lovely Renaissance hair braider, and then we proceeded to the hair salon where I got a french manicure (wouldn't you know, a nail broke Monday) and an eyebrow wax. The wedding was later that evening, with excellent weather (I scoffed at the "humidity"), and a very happy bride and groom. Great reception, great catering, and, if I must say, I gave a great toast. :) suncirkles and stagraven, you two were adorable, and I hope you had much fun on your honeymoon. This was the first wedding I've been to that wasn't dominated by a religious flavor of any kind, and it went beautifully.
Already I know I need to go back, get my ass to the aquarium, and to go visit DC, which was what I wish I'd had time to do to begin with. But, this will make a fun trip for me and qag, especially with my kick-ass navigation skills and comfort-level driving around the area. I look forward to the trip, because there's really lots to do, and that's something to say, because there's only a few places I've been to that I want to go to again. The first was Munich. The second's Baltimore.
Like I said, I'll put up a post about Week One of workshop later. Let you all digest this first and all that jazz. To everyone I saw during the wedding weekend, it was so damn good to be with you all again, eat good food, and enjoy each others' humor and snark. We need to do this again sometime. Maybe not at a wedding, but you know, somewhere. :)
I'll save workshop thoughts for another entry. This entry is about Baltimore and the wedding. Not sure how many of you care, but that's okay, cause I'm writing about it anyway.
I've always been the kind of girl who hates getting lost. As in an adamant, fearful, unrational kind of hate. We all have those sorts of fears, but my shtick has always been I MUST KNOW WHERE I'M GOING. Ironic, sense at this point in my life, I've been treading on with little to no direction.
Anyway.
Before I leave, I get addresses, I talk to people, I download maps from Mapquest, even buy my own map of the VA area (since that included DC), so that I wouldn't get lost. I think this idea of renting a car and driving around in an unfamiliar location was the main source of my anxiety last week.
I shouldn't have gotten so out of shape. Not only did the Enterprise provide me with super-stellar directions to get to Gaithersburg (where I would meet up and have a wonderful lunch with kirroyale), I had the magic clipboard that became even MORE magical once kirroyale gave me her map of the state (well, borrowed. I need to mail the sucker back). Thanks to that map, I made it to Westminster without any previous maps to guide me, and then trotted my way back to Baltimore to pick up emerald_ibis at BWI. Piece of cake, and I mean that in the most honest, boastful way possible. Course, it didn't hurt that Baltimore's signage makes loads of sense to me, and that the directions were clear-cut, even on the map.
Unfortunately, but my wicked cool driving skills came to a dead-halt as soon as night hit, along with the lovely drizzle that makes watching the road nothing more than a big glare fest. Wendy and I had already missed the wedding rehearsal, as her flight was delayed, and were on our way to the rehearsal dinner. We were sort of late for that too, but figured we'd only be about ten, fifteen minutes late. Unfortunately, the devil went the wrong direction on the road and it took us ten minutes to figure that out. Then, once we found the right way to go, I was so obsessed with NOT missing my turn that I ran a red light. And I don't mean the kind of red light that was first green, then yellow, then red, but the kind that was red the whole time, and I just never noticed. Fortunately, the gods of travel were on our side, because by time I realized what Wendy was screaming at me (poor girl, she had a rough day), we were already in the middle of the intersection going a bit faster than we should, but the light turned green, which means it was likely that the traffic that should've hit us was slowing down for a yellow light when I disregarded my own light.
Glad no one on that side ran THEIR yellow light. Glad I didn't rear-end someone either.
We got to the rehearsal an hour late, but in time for a fun dessert. Then we marched over to TGI Friday's for a truly unacceptable dinner, and went back to the hotel feeling grumpy, tired, and unsure of going to DC the next day (which was the plan).
We ended up not going. Not only did we sleep in, but we realized our room was a breeding ground for mold, thanks in part to the air conditioner that was leaking water INSIDE the hotel room, making it wet and damp. Poor devil woke up with a headache. Wendil went to the front counter to give them her "This is not acceptable" speech (which she got very good at during the course of this trip, between the airport delay and the TGI episode), and we got a new room.
But I don't think I'll be staying at the Ramada Inn in Pikesville ever again. I don't care how cheap it is.
Friday was spent at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. We didn't make it to the aquarium, as we got side-tracked by the museum of science and its Titanic exhibit, which was freaking awesome and moving. If you live in the area, check it out. We also got to see the dinosaurs (yay!) and a fun little presentation in the planetarium by a guy who had food on the brain (he kept making ice-cream cones and pizza slices out of the constellations). We then trekked around to the two-story Barnes and Noble, which was a novelty in and of itself, but disappointing in selection...I didn't find much more there than I would expect to find in the regular Knoxville one, save for a cd/dvd department. We ended the day with a lovely dinner at Uno's (which a kick-ass chocolate-chip cookie dessert we finished in less than five minutes), and a walk around the harbor.
Baltimore is really a lovely place. Even when I did get sort of misdirected.
Saturday was fairy tale day, where Wendil and I got our hair braided by this lovely Renaissance hair braider, and then we proceeded to the hair salon where I got a french manicure (wouldn't you know, a nail broke Monday) and an eyebrow wax. The wedding was later that evening, with excellent weather (I scoffed at the "humidity"), and a very happy bride and groom. Great reception, great catering, and, if I must say, I gave a great toast. :) suncirkles and stagraven, you two were adorable, and I hope you had much fun on your honeymoon. This was the first wedding I've been to that wasn't dominated by a religious flavor of any kind, and it went beautifully.
Already I know I need to go back, get my ass to the aquarium, and to go visit DC, which was what I wish I'd had time to do to begin with. But, this will make a fun trip for me and qag, especially with my kick-ass navigation skills and comfort-level driving around the area. I look forward to the trip, because there's really lots to do, and that's something to say, because there's only a few places I've been to that I want to go to again. The first was Munich. The second's Baltimore.
Like I said, I'll put up a post about Week One of workshop later. Let you all digest this first and all that jazz. To everyone I saw during the wedding weekend, it was so damn good to be with you all again, eat good food, and enjoy each others' humor and snark. We need to do this again sometime. Maybe not at a wedding, but you know, somewhere. :)