Great day at the beach. Waves in Rhode Island are absolutely amazingly huge. Here's my monologue from the car ride. Sorry, I was bored.
First, a minor gato muerto in the road...we thought Matthew had chicken pox. The doctor told us that they were just a ton of bug bites. Sure. Apparently, because he got the vaccination as a lucky little kid, they’re hesitant to diagnose chicken pox. This little incident reminded me of my own chicken pox experience, which was, predictably, miserable. I got the chicken pox from my lovely brother Andrew when I was 8 and my parents were in Italy. I was left to suffer through itchiness and oatmeal baths with my worry-wart grandmother, and after all that, they didn’t even know if they were the real chicken pox. Real? I wasn’t aware there were fake ones. Well, anyway, I had to have a blood test, and yes, they were the real deal. A wonderful specimen of the absolutely fantastic virus we call chicken pox.
Okay, back to vacation...Matthew’s chicken pox scare averted, or so we think, we packed our bags – overpacked, of course – and left for our vacation destination.
We merged onto the Massachusetts Turnpike; crossed over the Hudson River on an old baby blue bridge, on our way to the tiny little state of Rhode Island. Apparently, normal radio stations cut out like ten miles from Farmington, especially when travelling east.
Luckily, we passed all the road work sites when it was still de la madrugada, so there were minimal delays there. As always, my brother was way too talkative. The problem with being up so early, well, one of the many problems with being up so early, is that then you get hungry about an hour later, and no one wants to eat at 5:30 in the morning.
The car ride actually wasn't all that bad, except when Andrew decided that he needs to narrate his music selections, ‘like a real DJ’. We almost had a 'fight fight fight' when he turned on that stupid AC/DC song.
Anyway, then we stopped for breakfast at this place that I think was worse than Keuka's cafeteria. It was like semi-self-serve, and the service was really fast. Food wasn't bad...
So we arrived, and our house is a cute little place - and believe me when I say small (there are like 4 rooms) - it has an awesome little garden, and is RIGHT on the ocean. The view is absolutely amazing. We can see sailboats all the time, and this awesome little lighthouse in the distance. I'll put up a picture if I can.
Well, more to come... Rhode Island is awesome!!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Beckham booed before return to MLS Galaxy
Poor David Beckham. Famous English soccer star. Unbelievably rich. And yet, he still gets booed in America.
Good. He deserves it. Beckham came to the U.S. to increase the popularity of his sport here. He failed miserably. He didn't play that well (especially when you consider he is one of the top midfielders in the world), had a falling out with his teammate, and my favorite player, Landon Donovan, and then left for Italy, to play for one of my favorite Serie A clubs, AC Milan. So much for his commitment to promoting soccer in the United States. He missed the first half of the MLS season to finish up with AC Milan. All he's been worried about are his chances to make England's roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He believes he needs to be playing at "a European level" in order to accomplish this. Thanks.
There's also a rumor that he's working on a deal with another European team, or looking for another 6 month loan, at the least. I say good riddance. Go back to Europe.
Soccer is becoming more popular in the United States, no thanks to Beckham's half-hearted 'help'.
Good. He deserves it. Beckham came to the U.S. to increase the popularity of his sport here. He failed miserably. He didn't play that well (especially when you consider he is one of the top midfielders in the world), had a falling out with his teammate, and my favorite player, Landon Donovan, and then left for Italy, to play for one of my favorite Serie A clubs, AC Milan. So much for his commitment to promoting soccer in the United States. He missed the first half of the MLS season to finish up with AC Milan. All he's been worried about are his chances to make England's roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He believes he needs to be playing at "a European level" in order to accomplish this. Thanks.
There's also a rumor that he's working on a deal with another European team, or looking for another 6 month loan, at the least. I say good riddance. Go back to Europe.
Soccer is becoming more popular in the United States, no thanks to Beckham's half-hearted 'help'.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
100
Abby Wambach just scored her 100th goal- in Rochester!!!!
Ironically, this is also where Mia Hamm scored her 100th.
Soccertown USA!!!!
Ironically, this is also where Mia Hamm scored her 100th.
Soccertown USA!!!!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Sprinkles
Yes, sprinkles. I'm gonna rant about sprinkles.
Today my family and I biked part of the Erie Canal, and part of that trip is always stopping at Abbotts, which is right on the canal. So anyway, I go in and look at the flavors, and none of them are really jumping out at me. So I'm contemplating this, deeply contemplating this... like seriously thinking really hard about it, and I see this girl walk out with ice cream that is covered in sprinkles - and I mean seriously covered, like drenched, like, there may not have been ice cream under there covered. Well, I see that and I think, hmmm, I haven't had ice cream with sprinkles in a long time. So I order chocolate custard with rainbow sprinkles.
And as soon as I get it, I remember why I never get sprinkles. They're just so freakin inconvienient. I mean, they're blocking the ice cream for pete's sake. And they just keep falling off the cone like Niagara Falls as I walk out. I feel like little Hansel and Gretel leaving a rainbow sprinkle trail all the way to the bench. And then when I get there, I'm so worried about not letting my ice cream drip everywhere (I think the sprinkles weigh it down) that a stuck my thumb through the cone. yup. Broke a hole right through. I'm that talented. My mom goes, "good thing I didn't name you Grace!" and I mumble back my usual retort, "that would have been mean" between frantic licks. By now my ice cream cone is like a train wreck... it's got a thumb sized hole in it, stuff it falling off it everywhere, I probably look like a four year old with chocolate ice cream all over my face, and suddenly, we're passing around our cones. "Who wants to try coffee toffee" and "want some black rasberry." Isn't it obvious that my ice cream cone is a disaster zone? So then of course, my brother comes in for a lick and almost topples the whole percarious structure, and there's ice cream all over my hand because of that thumb-shaped hole in the side of the cone. Now I realize the wisdom in my mother's strategy of grabbing like a million napkins.
So I'm eating this ice cream cone, and there are like three solid layers of sprinkles until you get to the actual ice cream, which by now I've even forgotten is chocolate. And I'm not really enjoying it. First, sprinkles don't taste good. Especially not a mouthful of sprinkles by themselves. Then, centuries later, when I finally dig and tunnel my way through the sprinkle covered mountain that is my uber melty ice cream disaster, all that's left is chocolate. Plain chocolate ice cream is boring! Plus, by the time I'm to the point where my ice cream cone is manageable, everyone's done. Apparently, my disaster relief effort took longer than I thought. Darn.
So yeah, that's my sprinkle rant. stupid sprinkles.
Today my family and I biked part of the Erie Canal, and part of that trip is always stopping at Abbotts, which is right on the canal. So anyway, I go in and look at the flavors, and none of them are really jumping out at me. So I'm contemplating this, deeply contemplating this... like seriously thinking really hard about it, and I see this girl walk out with ice cream that is covered in sprinkles - and I mean seriously covered, like drenched, like, there may not have been ice cream under there covered. Well, I see that and I think, hmmm, I haven't had ice cream with sprinkles in a long time. So I order chocolate custard with rainbow sprinkles.
And as soon as I get it, I remember why I never get sprinkles. They're just so freakin inconvienient. I mean, they're blocking the ice cream for pete's sake. And they just keep falling off the cone like Niagara Falls as I walk out. I feel like little Hansel and Gretel leaving a rainbow sprinkle trail all the way to the bench. And then when I get there, I'm so worried about not letting my ice cream drip everywhere (I think the sprinkles weigh it down) that a stuck my thumb through the cone. yup. Broke a hole right through. I'm that talented. My mom goes, "good thing I didn't name you Grace!" and I mumble back my usual retort, "that would have been mean" between frantic licks. By now my ice cream cone is like a train wreck... it's got a thumb sized hole in it, stuff it falling off it everywhere, I probably look like a four year old with chocolate ice cream all over my face, and suddenly, we're passing around our cones. "Who wants to try coffee toffee" and "want some black rasberry." Isn't it obvious that my ice cream cone is a disaster zone? So then of course, my brother comes in for a lick and almost topples the whole percarious structure, and there's ice cream all over my hand because of that thumb-shaped hole in the side of the cone. Now I realize the wisdom in my mother's strategy of grabbing like a million napkins.
So I'm eating this ice cream cone, and there are like three solid layers of sprinkles until you get to the actual ice cream, which by now I've even forgotten is chocolate. And I'm not really enjoying it. First, sprinkles don't taste good. Especially not a mouthful of sprinkles by themselves. Then, centuries later, when I finally dig and tunnel my way through the sprinkle covered mountain that is my uber melty ice cream disaster, all that's left is chocolate. Plain chocolate ice cream is boring! Plus, by the time I'm to the point where my ice cream cone is manageable, everyone's done. Apparently, my disaster relief effort took longer than I thought. Darn.
So yeah, that's my sprinkle rant. stupid sprinkles.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Stuart Hourse Trials
I just went to watch Meg at the Stuart Horse Trials in Victor. Meg did very well. She was in 10th before stadium, and apparently had a chance to get a ribbon, but she knocked over a 'rail' on her second to last jump. Oh well. Anyway, it was like watching figure skating in the Olympics, except less dangerous. One girl almost fell off her unruly horse because he got to the gate and decided to 'refuse'. Poor girl. Then she whipped the horse. Poor horse. The only other action was a few stirrup incidents, but don't worry, everyone was okay. The announcer was like, "the rider was forced to retire on the course because of broken stirrup leather. But she's okay." Believe me, there was no doubt she was okay. So overall, I'm glad I could go and support my friend, but you definately have to know something about this stuff before you go and watch it if you want to enjoy it. It all looked the same to me, except for the poor girl who knocked over like every gate.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
AP Tests
I got my AP scores, and they just confirmed that AP was definately the right way to go. I took 9 AP classes/tests throughout high school and ended up with 27 credit hours to show for it. That lightens the college load quite a bit.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Soccer is gender neutral?
Just read another blog, http://sportsmediasociety.blogspot.com/2009/05/womens-pro-sports-can-gender-really-be.html , and wanted to point out the massively flawed logic that is the crux of the author's argument.
First, the author points out the differences between the WPS and the MLS. He points out that WPS attracts more international players and may benefit from a "ready made fan base." Okay, all this makes sense, but then he goes on to demonstrate the typical American ignorance regarding the beautiful game.
He says that soccer is "a gender-neutral sport, and thus less appealing to fans." How is that even remotely logical? First of all, this gender-neutrality is good. Anyone can play soccer. Anyone can watch soccer. Soccer can attract a very broad spectrum of fans.
Only a certain kind of person can sit in front of the television and watch overweight men maul each other over and over again, but anyone and everyone enjoys a well-played world cup match between two international powerhouses. I think the absolutely huge international following that soccer enjoys proves that.
Sadly, I think this comes down to sexism. Just because women can play this sport, with the exact same rules - unlike softball - it is suddenly deemed unprofitable and solely participatory?
First, the author points out the differences between the WPS and the MLS. He points out that WPS attracts more international players and may benefit from a "ready made fan base." Okay, all this makes sense, but then he goes on to demonstrate the typical American ignorance regarding the beautiful game.
He says that soccer is "a gender-neutral sport, and thus less appealing to fans." How is that even remotely logical? First of all, this gender-neutrality is good. Anyone can play soccer. Anyone can watch soccer. Soccer can attract a very broad spectrum of fans.
Only a certain kind of person can sit in front of the television and watch overweight men maul each other over and over again, but anyone and everyone enjoys a well-played world cup match between two international powerhouses. I think the absolutely huge international following that soccer enjoys proves that.
Sadly, I think this comes down to sexism. Just because women can play this sport, with the exact same rules - unlike softball - it is suddenly deemed unprofitable and solely participatory?
Four Questions I've Always Wanted Answered
Q: Is the word dictionary actually listed in the dictionary?
A: Yes. Even though You'd think that someone who is looking in a dictionary would know what a dictionary is, it is defined by Webster's dictionary as: "A book of alphabetically listed words in a language, with definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, and other information."
Q: What is the longest word in the English Language?
A: It ends up that there is not a simple answer to this question. The longest word that's listed in a major dictionary is Pnuemonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. But that is disputed because it is a technical term and was coined to be the longest word. The longest word without any dispute is Antidisestablishmentarianism. Check this link for the rest of the list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_the_English_language
Q: Do bees have ears?
A: I've been wondering about this one since I saw that stupid roadrunner commercial where the kid goes "mom, do bees have ears?" and the mom goes "I don't know [you freakish nerd], lets check roadrunner and see!" I've just been too lazy too google it. Anyway, it ends up honeybees do not have any kind of ears, so they cannot hear sounds, but they can feel vibrations in the air (that the sound waves would produce). Also, they have a fantastic sense of smell.
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: The sky is blue because the sun's light rays act like waves and are diffracted (the prism effect, where white light is refracted through a prism to seperate all the different colors because of their different indices of refraction. There's a famous picture of this on a Pink Floyd album) then refracted (changing speed in a different medium) and/or reflected (like a mirror) to produce the blue hue that the rods and cones in our eyes register. *Thank God I took AP Physics.*
A: Yes. Even though You'd think that someone who is looking in a dictionary would know what a dictionary is, it is defined by Webster's dictionary as: "A book of alphabetically listed words in a language, with definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, and other information."
Q: What is the longest word in the English Language?
A: It ends up that there is not a simple answer to this question. The longest word that's listed in a major dictionary is Pnuemonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. But that is disputed because it is a technical term and was coined to be the longest word. The longest word without any dispute is Antidisestablishmentarianism. Check this link for the rest of the list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_the_English_language
Q: Do bees have ears?
A: I've been wondering about this one since I saw that stupid roadrunner commercial where the kid goes "mom, do bees have ears?" and the mom goes "I don't know [you freakish nerd], lets check roadrunner and see!" I've just been too lazy too google it. Anyway, it ends up honeybees do not have any kind of ears, so they cannot hear sounds, but they can feel vibrations in the air (that the sound waves would produce). Also, they have a fantastic sense of smell.
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: The sky is blue because the sun's light rays act like waves and are diffracted (the prism effect, where white light is refracted through a prism to seperate all the different colors because of their different indices of refraction. There's a famous picture of this on a Pink Floyd album) then refracted (changing speed in a different medium) and/or reflected (like a mirror) to produce the blue hue that the rods and cones in our eyes register. *Thank God I took AP Physics.*
My favorite quotes
"Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway."
The perfect little twist in the punchline. A good philosophy to live by.
The perfect little twist in the punchline. A good philosophy to live by.
My new favorite website
I think I found my new favorite website. http://www.weirdthings.org.uk/. First of all, it's British. The first phrase I saw was "Maybe I'm being a bit nasty here because some of these look bloody cool." Yup. He said "bloody cool". Awesomely British.
Anyway, I went on to look at a photo gallery of weird inventions... the first being a sponge shaped like a microphone that you're apparently supposed to sneeze into. Further down, there is a "pro thumb-wrestling 'stadium.'"
And the madness continues with straws with lips on the top, a toaster shaped like a teapot, and some other gems that you'll have to go to the website to look at, such as the penguin/clock/tea bag holder.http://www.weirdthings.org.uk/crazy-inventions-picture-gallery-choose-your-weirdest-invention-now/
I can't wait to check out the other tabs on this website.
Anyway, I went on to look at a photo gallery of weird inventions... the first being a sponge shaped like a microphone that you're apparently supposed to sneeze into. Further down, there is a "pro thumb-wrestling 'stadium.'"
And the madness continues with straws with lips on the top, a toaster shaped like a teapot, and some other gems that you'll have to go to the website to look at, such as the penguin/clock/tea bag holder.http://www.weirdthings.org.uk/crazy-inventions-picture-gallery-choose-your-weirdest-invention-now/
I can't wait to check out the other tabs on this website.
Monday, July 13, 2009
9 crazy clichés
I was wondering, do any of the cheesy sayings and strange idioms we use make any sense?
1. "Life is like a BOX OF CHOCOLATES, you never know what you're getting.
Actually, you know exactly what you're getting. A box of chocolates. duh.
2. "Roll with the punches"
In my opinion, if a punch makes you roll, you're done.
3. "Two peas in a pod"
Although there are usually more than just two peas in a pod, this actually makes some sense. Except for the claustrophobic.
5. "king's english"
WTH does this one mean? I've never heard anyone say this in my life.
6. "the bee's knees"
Do bees even have knees? And why would being the bee's knees be good? I suppose he can't sting himself in the knees...
7. "Half a bubble off"
What is this, Spongebob Squarepants? Who measures things in bubbles!?!
8. "Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel"
Uh, what? Is this Noah's Ark or something?
9. "He doesn't suffer fools gladly"
Who does? I think the word suffer got the point across fine.
10. "A few french fries short of a load"
Further evidence of the ever-increasing epidemic of obesity. Now we measure fries in "loads."
Bonus: This one just made me laugh - "I'm all over that like a fat kid on a smartie" lol.
Special thanks to westegg.com's cliche finder
1. "Life is like a BOX OF CHOCOLATES, you never know what you're getting.
Actually, you know exactly what you're getting. A box of chocolates. duh.
2. "Roll with the punches"
In my opinion, if a punch makes you roll, you're done.
3. "Two peas in a pod"
Although there are usually more than just two peas in a pod, this actually makes some sense. Except for the claustrophobic.
5. "king's english"
WTH does this one mean? I've never heard anyone say this in my life.
6. "the bee's knees"
Do bees even have knees? And why would being the bee's knees be good? I suppose he can't sting himself in the knees...
7. "Half a bubble off"
What is this, Spongebob Squarepants? Who measures things in bubbles!?!
8. "Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel"
Uh, what? Is this Noah's Ark or something?
9. "He doesn't suffer fools gladly"
Who does? I think the word suffer got the point across fine.
10. "A few french fries short of a load"
Further evidence of the ever-increasing epidemic of obesity. Now we measure fries in "loads."
Bonus: This one just made me laugh - "I'm all over that like a fat kid on a smartie" lol.
Camping
I've done a lot of camping this summer. Yup, sleeping in a tent, bugspray, the whole nine yards. And It was awesome.
First we went sort of warm up camping... we stayed in a cabin by Cayuga Lake and cooked hot dogs and s'mores. In fact, that's all we ate for 3 days. How's that for healthy nutrition?
Next we decided that while "cabining" was fun, we needed to go big or go home. So we planned a trip to the Adirondacks. Off we went... five recent graduates; quite a cast of characters. Myself - the clown, and inexperienced camper - my mom thinks camping is primative and disgusting- Nicole - the Seinfeld-esqe storyteller and experienced camper, Meredith- the uber-nice bookworm, Haley - the outgoing and slightly crazy one who is very into her music, and Meg- the crazy smart but absolutely insane future neuroscientist.
So when we finally got there, after a very interesting car ride, we pull onto this dirt road which is not on any maps, and definately not recognized by our spastic GPS, and ride on down to campsite number 70, situated in our own little private piece of forrest, with an outstanding view of a lake I never actually found out the name of. A really beautiful setting.
We unload the truck and set up the tent in record time...all in beautiful weather. That was our one hour of good weather for the entire trip. It rained the rest of the time... like nonstop. dry socks were a luxury. For some of us who were really unlucky, dry clothes were a luxury. The tent was soaked, we were soaked to the bone, and while you would expect that to mean a miserable camping trip, it was actually quite fantastic.
First we went sort of warm up camping... we stayed in a cabin by Cayuga Lake and cooked hot dogs and s'mores. In fact, that's all we ate for 3 days. How's that for healthy nutrition?
Next we decided that while "cabining" was fun, we needed to go big or go home. So we planned a trip to the Adirondacks. Off we went... five recent graduates; quite a cast of characters. Myself - the clown, and inexperienced camper - my mom thinks camping is primative and disgusting- Nicole - the Seinfeld-esqe storyteller and experienced camper, Meredith- the uber-nice bookworm, Haley - the outgoing and slightly crazy one who is very into her music, and Meg- the crazy smart but absolutely insane future neuroscientist.
So when we finally got there, after a very interesting car ride, we pull onto this dirt road which is not on any maps, and definately not recognized by our spastic GPS, and ride on down to campsite number 70, situated in our own little private piece of forrest, with an outstanding view of a lake I never actually found out the name of. A really beautiful setting.
We unload the truck and set up the tent in record time...all in beautiful weather. That was our one hour of good weather for the entire trip. It rained the rest of the time... like nonstop. dry socks were a luxury. For some of us who were really unlucky, dry clothes were a luxury. The tent was soaked, we were soaked to the bone, and while you would expect that to mean a miserable camping trip, it was actually quite fantastic.
We took two hikes, one on a deer trail down by the lake, and one on a trail called something like bare rock trail... it had a lot of bare rock. The view from the top of the bare rock trail was absolutely phenomenal. We also explored town (with umbrellas of course) and bought this sickly-sweet maple syrup candy that melted in the little bag in like 6 seconds. Later, we saw the movie UP. It was great.
The wildlife was also cool. One night we had a mother duck and her ducklings come up form the lake right to our campsite. We fed them bread - they were sooo cute.
Our other wildlife experience was a little more frightening. As we were driving back down the dirt road, we saw a bear in the distance. Yeah, an actual bear. A baby one. We called it the mini-bear, and had lots of fun trying to take pictures of it (from the safety of the truck of course). Then Meredith wisely mumbled, "yeah, but now there's a bear here." Oh yeah. Party pooper. Apparently the signs about not leaving food or garbage out at your campsite, as to not attract bears, were not for aestetic purposes.
Our last camping trip was a little less dangerous. We camped at Highmeadow campgrounds, and went to Hershey Park all day. This time I went with Jess- the mellow, conservative one, Nicole, Haley, Mary- the worldly, outgoing one (whom my grandmother loves because she's been to Italy), Joanna and Richard - the twins, and their Polish father, whom we called Tulek (that's not his actual name). The drive down took longer than we thought it would, especially with Tulek driving like a maniac. Seriously, why would you speed up around turns and slow down on straight-aways? Later, he almost jumped a curb like a ramp.
Anyway, once we got to the campground, we started to set up camp and realized that we had a problem... Nicole had brought the tent... but not the tent poles. Oops. We ended up hanging the tent from a tree with the strings from the rain tarp. It was cool, but actually, our "ghetto tent" went relatively unused as only 3 of us slept in it, and only for one of the two nights. So it ends up that forgetting the poles was not catastrophic, but rather, hysterically funny. How do you bring the tent but not the tent poles?
The theme park was awesome. my favorite coaster was farienheight (sp?), a coaster that brings you up very slowly at a 90 degree angle, so you feel like you're ready to launch in a space shuttle, and then you go down a 97 degree drop, followed by a flurry of loops, corkskrews, and barrel rolls that can make your head spin (and hurt).
The second night we all slept under the stars, and overalll, this camping trip and themepark extravaganza was a great experience. And we got chocolate!!
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