A Spot of Ice cream!

Everyone loves ice cream but never has an excuse to eat it. So I'm giving you one.

Go get your hands on some ice cream and eat it! Because I said so.

(I of course am only speaking to those of you who need an excuse to eat it. Clearly some people, like myself, will eat ice cream with no excuse whatsoever. Go us!)

Yum, yum. Mine's peppermint. :-)

Life (and other slow, boring things)

Several things to mention, the first being that I really can't stand this internet connection or this PC computer ANY LONGER!!! The PC has got to go... hello leptop Mac. The prospect of this is making me feel better already.

Second, my summer job (for all -4 of you who don't know) entails the digital creation of display advertisements for a weekly publication. In other words, I toodle around on the computer all day doing what some people would call graphic design (though it's much simpler, so I don't call it that). ANYHOW... today I set up an ad for a woman who wants to start some in-house child daycare, something or other, and in her ad among her qualities she lists "college educated."

Ok, let me just say that while a college education is a great thing to have, that doesn't tell me diddly squat about how well you can work with kids. Seriously, someone who stopped school after high school to raise a family at 18, and who has been taking care of kids for 15 years might be better qualified than a 24 year-old with an infant who just barely squeaked by with a major in Computer Science (or some equally anti-people concentration). You get my drift.

Finally, I was going to tell you a story regarding my sister and some guy. However, in order to tell this story, I would need to be totally vague so as not to embarass my sister (you know, we DO live in a small town), or make quite a lot up (as really, the story consists mostly of spculation and uninteresting tidbits). While I do enjoy complete and utter fabrication (with a basis in truth), in the end I decided I won't write on it at all. While I find it entirely amusing, it doesn't come out nearly as entertaining as I hoped it would be (which goes to show you how weak my imagination is).

I need to go focus on the Black Bear that is on our patio now. And no, ladies and gentlemen, that's no fabrication. That's real life in NH for you.

MyVu

Hate the name, love the concept.

What a great use of technology.

My New Dress

It looked amazing in the dressing room so I bought it (for ten dollars, it really was a no brainer). It looked amazing when I showed it to my sister, and even for the first 15 minutes when I wore it today.

Then I sat down. And the moral of the story is this, kids: dresses do funny things when you take a seat... always sit before purchasing.

The Bathroom: The New Water Cooler (Can You Digg It?)

Ok, that was my (lame) attempt at being cool. Anyhow, I was thinking about my summer job and my past jobs and I realized that I have never been able to congregate "around the water cooler". I'm feeling a deep sense of deprivation, and considered writing this letter to my current employers:

Dear mom and dad/my current employers,

Please buy a water cooler. I want to congregate while fulfilling my basic hydration needs.

Sincerely,
Your annoying daughter/employee

PS - No, I don't think Sarah's/my sister's solution of "Get it from the tap you !@#$%^&" is a good one.

Anyhow, I don't think it is going to happen. For one, I don't think any employee cares enough about water from a water cooler to go to the trouble of putting those heavy water jugs in (plus I don't think I myself have the brains to figure it out without spilling, oh, 75-99% of the water).

So to fill the void, I've been trying to figure out where a good spot would be for everyone to congregate. I naturally thought of the photocopier because people in my department already sort of do congregate there. It would be easy enough to convince all the other employees to do it, once they saw how cool us pre-pressers were. Plus, "photocopier" has the same sort of flow as the word "water-cooler".

I was seeing some real potential, but also some real drawbacks. For one, the copier is in the dark, which isn't really conducive to non-bizarro conversation. It's also in a hallway with high traffic, so I don't think jamming a bunch of people there would be the brightest plan ever.

One place I do see with some real potential is the front bathroom. The other day I went in there, cold as an icicle because of the overactive air conditioning, and realized that there was HEAT in the bathroom! So already it has my vote as a place for congregation as it is the warmest place in the building.

Also, it is a good location! CSRs can't really leave the front desk, but if we all congregated outside the bathroom, they could join in the congregation fun without ever leaving their posts! And you totally want to include the CSRs because they know everything that goes on in the company. Brilliant, I say.

And sure, if everyone congregated in the front hall by the bathroom, no customers would be able to come in with work for us. But I see that as a golden situation, for if customers can't bring us work, there is less to be done therefore leaving everyone more time for social congregation outside of the bathroom.

I see major potential for company downfall... perhaps this is the real reason we don't have a water cooler.

Hitchhikers

As I was driving home from my high school reunion today (by the way, it was fun as well as educational... I've never witnessed a drug deal in the making before!) I was thinking about what I could write about in this journal of mine. I took a lot of pictures at my favorite rest stop and thought about writing an ode to it, but I think I will save that for later because instead I saw something far more shocking/dangerous/hilarious.

Just as I was about to enter Georges Mills, I saw three boys walking backwards on the road. They could not have been older than twelve or so, and one of them was definitely eight-ish. When I got a little closer I realized they had their thumbs out and huge grins on their faces... they were trying to hitchhike! I couldn't believe it.

I once read a book where a young girl tries to hitchhike and a lady pulls over and tells her she is out of her mind and orders her into the car and drives her back to her home. I briefly thought about pulling over and telling the boys that it was super dangerous to hitchhike and that they should go home and never do it again, but two things stopped me. The less significant factor was that I live in a tiny town and chances are if I meddled it would somehow circulate and turn into me somehow being an evil person (and let's face it, I have no right meddling, even if what those kids were doing was super dangerous). The second and deciding factor for me was that I was driving on the right hand side of the road, and they were on the left, making it difficult for me to pull over.

Glad I have my priorities straight.

Politeness (and Excuse My French)

I've found that since coming back to the US I have been super polite. I usually am a pleasant person, but the rules of "politesse" in France are strict and I suppose I got used to adhering to them.

For example, if you walk into a grocery store in the US and you smile at the person working the till, that's generally enough of a hello to get your transaction started.

Now let's jetset via our imaginations over the ocean and into France. You need to say a "Hello, how are you doing today" at the very minimum to get your cashier to act civil with you (and it's best if your accent is, well, non-existant... oh, well). And don't even think about leaving goodbye without saying goodbye to the cashier, the man emptying the garbage, the woman standing at the help desk, and the man guarding the door. Wishing them a good weekend (and hey, maybe even some light conversation) is never a bad idea, either.

In short, I've become accustomed to being super polite, and it makes all my transactions incredibly pleasant. I recommed everyone get in the habit if you aren't already.

Second, let me just say that our PC computer at home is a piece of crap. That's all I have to say about that.

Third, I'm going to my five year high school reunion tomorrow. Should be fun!

Gainful Employment

I found out that I got a job at a school in Brooklyn! It's a computer science position teaching middle school students (thought the school is K-12 most of the students I see will be in 5th or 6th grade). I'm really excited; it's nice to not have to worry about job hunting anymore.

Now all I need to do is survive my summer job in one piece. Two days down, and so far, so good.

The Nasal Aspirator

I don't know what cruel and unusual torture devices your parents used on you when you were a child, but if your life as a fledgling human being resembled mine at all you'd know what I speak of when I utter the words "nasal aspirator."

When I was younger, those two words instilled the same fear in me as hearing my parents shrilly shout after me using my first, middle AND last names. Except for unlike when my middle name was invoked, when I heard the words "nasal aspirator" I was usually not in trouble (let's just say if I'd ever heard a sentence that was something like "Meghan Alexandra blah blah nasal aspirator blah blah BLAH!!!!" I don't think I'd be writing this right now). Though the N.A. word combo did not mean I was in trouble with my parents, it was a phrase that would make me wish I was about to receive the highest punishment instead of enduring the torture of the nasal aspirator.

For those of you who don't know what this device is, let me explain... it's like a very short turkey baster, and the end happens to fit just inside your nose. You squeeze the pump at the end, stick the other end in your nose, and let go of the pump. This causes an interesting thing to occur... to be quite frank, it sucks all the snot out of your sinuses.

This is a dream for parents all over, as it prevents the continuous sniffles of your child who is suffering from a cold. As a child, however, it is just about the scariest thing that can ever happen to you (apart from real life tragedies, of course). I remember thinking that the aspirator was sucking out not only my mucus, but also all my brains as well... and let me tell you, at the ripe age of three you don't have many brains to spare, making this a particularly scary prospect. Not to mention the noise that it makes... well, let's just say it's highly unpleasant.

Lately, however, I've been wishing the nasal aspirator would make a reappearance. I've been suffering from a cold lately, and I've been literally blowing my brains out (seriously, I can't add anymore... I've got to be losing something). Just now when I nearly passed out in the bathroom on my 17th blow, I caught myself wishing for the days of nasal aspiration. Sure, it was scary as all get out, and the thought of it made me quiver in my boots, but at least I did not hyperventilate in an attempt to blow fluid out of my nose... and I must admit, I do remember feeling a whole lot better afterwards (but shh... don't tell the future generations of this secret... I wouldn't want them to look forward to potential aspirations).

More Traveling

Today I am going to DC for a friend's graduation! I am excited as it should be a lot of fun to see her and her family. I sort of wish I was going to be there a little longer, but I need to get back to NH to start my summer job. (Not looking forward to that too much but hey, I've got to earn money somehow!)

On Monday when I get back I am going to be taking a CPR certification class (I think it is CPR, anyway) which is always something good to know how to do. If I am certified it makes working at summer camps and such a whole lot easier, and I swear that next summer I am going to rock the summer camp world!

Vermont Snow

Tonight my sister and I went over to my grandmother's house for dinner and conversation. We got to talking about cards, and my grandmother asked us if we had recieved the cards she sent us at Christmas time. Curiously, neither of us had recieved the cards she said she had sent. She started to tell us that she had found this fake snow at a pottery place called Mesa... they called it "Vermont Snow" and it came with a cute little card. We were trying to figure out what could have happened to the cards (strange that both of them would not have made it!) when my grandmother started laughing.

She said it was no small wonder she was not in some high security prison right now. Think about it... fake snow, what is essentially white powder, being sent through the postal system? No wonder it never made it to our mailboxes.

My Personal Natural Disaster

I realized that my sister is coming home today (ok, I'll admit, I did not forget about it or anything, her arrival just sort of snuck up on me), and I have a tiny problem.

Her bed has gone missing. Well, that's not entirely true. I am sure it is under there somewhere, but it's going to be really hard to find.

Last night as I was lying in my bed, I realized that the top of her bed was, oh, a good three feet above the top of mine. In terms of personal belongings, that's a whole lot of junk.

This means that I have "t-minus" 7 hours 46 minutes to clear her bed off for her. Sure, it's not all my stuff, but I think she'll appreciate having a bed to sleep in when she arrives home, even if that means shoving her stuff in her dresser, the closet, and (dare I mention it) the FLOOR.

I was thinking briefly about making the bed, too, but seriously people... there are limits to my sisterly niceness.

New York, New York

Yesterday I trekked my jet-lagged self into New York city for two different interviews. I was thinking that since the first interview was at 10 am, even if I had to meet a few people and see the school I would still be done in time to get to another one after 3 pm.

Well, I was wrong. In the end I made it (only 5 minutes late!) but only because I had to cut the first interview a little short and rush off to my second interview.

Anyhow, the point of this message is to say that I was sad to cut the first interview a little short. If the school that I had the first interview at decides to offer me a job, I will take it. It seems to be the sort of one-of-a-kind school that you just don't turn down. :-)

It's A Crime

I just saw an Applebee's commercial for steak of some sort, and the background music was "Juicy" by Better Than Ezra. Love the song. Hate the restaurant. It's sad, really, that the song has been reduced to background music for a steak commercial. Boo.

Bon Retour!

After about 24 hours of traveling, I am pleased to report that I made it home to the US in one piece.

Let me tell you about my flights. The first leg of my trip (from Montpellier to Gatwick) went fairly smoothly. I was worried about charged for overweight baggage but the lady who checked me in ignored the fact that I was 2 kilos over the weight limit, which saved me about $320 dollars in charges (I was really happy). I said "adieu" to my sister and went through security where my bag was searched at random. I always have to wonder what people think when they rifle through people's belongings. My bag, for example, had two mugs, a bunch of student evaluations, 15 packages of gum, slippers, 3 books, a whole bunch of cords and adapters, and a sachet of potpourri. That's pretty random if you ask me!

Arriving in Gatwick started ok but soon became a bit disastrous when they told me that I could not bring two bags through security (I had my backpack and my laptop which is standard, I am pretty sure, for every airport in the world EXCEPT Gatwick). So I had to fit my laptop bag into my backpack, carry my laptop and my slippers through security, and I had to throw away a few things in order to make it all fit into one bag. Drats. As soon as I got through security, I rearranged everything back into two bags which was a mistake because when I went to board the plane they questioned me as to how I had made it with two bags through security. I told them I had consolidated and would gladly pack it back into one bag, but would just turn around and repack it into two as soon as I got on the plane, so they saw reason and just let me get on the plane!

The flight from Gatwick to Detroit was very pleasant. For anyone traveling overseas I would highly recommend flights with Northwestern. The food is good, the attendants friendly, and the in-flight entertainment can not be beat. I watched 3 movies, all of which were very good, and enjoyed being the only person in my entire row (hooray, 8 seats all to myself).

Now for the real fun.

When I arrived in Detroit I went through customs and skipped grabbing my bags because I had been told in France they would check through all the way to Manchester. Well, when I arrived at border patrol, they told me this was not the case. What I had to do was pick up my bags, walk 20 feet to go through border control, walk another 20 feet and recheck my bags. Stupid... so stupid... but I did it, obviously. Then I had to go through security again and just after I had gone through security came asking for someone who was going to Manchester (me). They said I needed to go back to where I had checked my bags as there was a problem with my luggage. Turns out one of the jars of mustard I was bringing home had broken and there was glass and mustard everywhere inside my suitcase! It got all over the only jacket I had in there, not to mention my yearbooks and some of my portfolio work. Joy. I cleaned it up as best I could and then had to go through security again and wait for my plane.

The flight to Manchester was no big deal - since it was 4 am my time I slept through the whole thing! When we landed I was good and ready to get off the plane, but we were delayed for about a half-hour because the electronic ramp that they move over to the plane so you can get off was not working. It could move back and forth but could not rotate. The captain came on the speakers and the conversation went something like:

"Hello, this is your captain speaking. Yes, it appears that the jetway is not, um, is not working, so we are just hanging out waiting for it to, uh, yes, to be fixed, we're just, uh, at the mercy of the mechanics, really, so just sit tight."

"Hi, this is your captain again, it, uh, seems we have come up with a solution. The solution is not a, uh, good one, in fact it's, uh, sort of not good because we are, uh, going to move the plane forward and try and get the ramp as close to the door as, uh, possible, but, uh, there might be a bit of a gap for you to, uh, walk over, uh, but there will be people to help you jump the, uh, the gap, so it will be a completely, uh, safe operation, though not ideal. Hopefully we'll, uh, be able to get the ramp close enough to, uh, do this because if not we'll need to, uh, back the plane up to reposition it and, uh, that's a bit of a problem because, it uh, uh, appears that there is no one physically present to, uh, uh, back to the plane up, uh, at this time so uh, let's hope this works."

It worked. I went to baggage claim "1" where my bags were supposed to come out, picked them up at "2" where they actually came out, got a jolly good chuckle when I saw two people's bags smeared with mustard (who knows how that could have happened!), and drove home for my arrival at 1:00 am EST, or 7:00 am France time, making it a total travel time of exactly 24 hours.