It's almost the weekend! Whoo-hoo. but first, let me tell you about last weekend. I went on a choir retreat somewhere in upstate New York. all i know is that it was a two and a half hour bus ride from the city. we took two coach busses from Times Square Church, which of course were late; they had to go through security checks at the holland tunnel. Friday night, all we really did was eat and introduce ourselves to everyone with a game thing. Saturday, we ate, and ate, and ate. in between eating buffet-style meals, we played group games like three-legged race (but with three people--the middle one backwards), basketball, minefield (direct a blindfolded person around obstacles), etc. alas, the gold team didn't win the day. in the free time, i kicked around a soccer ball, shot some hoops, and played like ten games of volleyball. i also took my first spin in a golf cart. saturday night we had a giant bonfire, and small groups sang--like a talent show. During a medley of these cool african songs three girls sang, a bunch of folks danced around the fire. we joked that once the pastors heard about our pagan fire dance, we would never get another retreat again. ha, ha. sunday morning we got up early so we could board the busses at 6 am and scoot back to the city in time for church. it was a great weekend, and now i even know people's names. of course, anyone that didn't make the retreat is still basically a stranger.
so i'm looking forward to another great weekend. even though the weather is kind of cool right now, i think i'll try to get to the beach when i go out to Long Island this weekend. Monday, i'm going sailing!
have a great holiday weekend.
May 27, 2004
May 18, 2004
all i'm trying to do is stay awake. i've completely exhausted my candy stash, and it's only 2:30. oh, no.
i visited Holly this weekend to help her look at cars. i also helped her eat lots of food, browse through an outdoor art festival, swim in the pool, and lay in the sun - and i have the crispy-red skin to prove it. but back to the cars for a second. we looked at toyota, mazda, honda, and nissan on saturday. nothing interested us at toyota, but she drove a 6 over at mazda. after taking us to a deserted parking lot in the middle of nowhere, our long-finger nailed salesman gave us an agonizing tour of every minute detail of the car. the engine was great, the hatchback was even better, but the seats sucked big time and mazda's zoom-zoom was too masculine for holly. She did love the small SUV over at honda, the CR-V. and since she'd already seen her friends' accords, we skipped that one. and then the nissan atlima was our final drive of the day. with the weekend over now, i think she has narrowed it down to the accord or the altima. both are very similar, so it will probably all depend on if nissan can get her the configuration she wants at a price at least competitive with the accord.
so i was supposed to come home early last night. when it got toward boarding time, they announced that it would be delayed for over an hour. then they cancelled the flight altogether. the weather was fine in raleigh and in new york, so i guess it was horrible somewhere between the two places. so i had to crawl out of bed at 4 this morning to make my 6:40 flight. i could have made it to work on time, but i didn't have my work keys on me, so i went home first. an hour late to work isn't so bad. i'm pretty bored anyway.
i visited Holly this weekend to help her look at cars. i also helped her eat lots of food, browse through an outdoor art festival, swim in the pool, and lay in the sun - and i have the crispy-red skin to prove it. but back to the cars for a second. we looked at toyota, mazda, honda, and nissan on saturday. nothing interested us at toyota, but she drove a 6 over at mazda. after taking us to a deserted parking lot in the middle of nowhere, our long-finger nailed salesman gave us an agonizing tour of every minute detail of the car. the engine was great, the hatchback was even better, but the seats sucked big time and mazda's zoom-zoom was too masculine for holly. She did love the small SUV over at honda, the CR-V. and since she'd already seen her friends' accords, we skipped that one. and then the nissan atlima was our final drive of the day. with the weekend over now, i think she has narrowed it down to the accord or the altima. both are very similar, so it will probably all depend on if nissan can get her the configuration she wants at a price at least competitive with the accord.
so i was supposed to come home early last night. when it got toward boarding time, they announced that it would be delayed for over an hour. then they cancelled the flight altogether. the weather was fine in raleigh and in new york, so i guess it was horrible somewhere between the two places. so i had to crawl out of bed at 4 this morning to make my 6:40 flight. i could have made it to work on time, but i didn't have my work keys on me, so i went home first. an hour late to work isn't so bad. i'm pretty bored anyway.
May 13, 2004
During choir practice last night, my senior pastor breezed in and told us that the choir is going to Zambia in October. I just looked it up at the CIA's web page, of all places; It's a land-locked country in southern Africa. Wow, that should be exciting. I've never been to Africa before.
And my boss is out today; his wife is having their baby today! they were going to do it tonight or tomorrow morning, but i guess they moved it up. I wonder what they are going to name the little guy...
And my boss is out today; his wife is having their baby today! they were going to do it tonight or tomorrow morning, but i guess they moved it up. I wonder what they are going to name the little guy...
May 10, 2004
Two great things about this weekend: it was really fun, and it was all basically cheap/free, unlike the past week of spending. Thursday night was the last F+F. (F+F = "friends 'n friends" or "friends on friends") But it was all a rush, so we just got pizza.
On friday, i rode my bike from work to meet rebecca for tennis. it was my first time riding over the Queensborough Bridge. well, the first time on the ped/bike path. i rode on the street part last year during the Bike NY Five Boro Bike Tour when they closed it to traffic for us. anyway, i went over the bridge, through central park, over to the upper west side, and up riverside park. that was a workout in itself. i got a court for us at the 119th street hard courts since i had no luck at the clay courts at 96th street. our first round of tennis went pretty well, but i really need to learn how to serve. afterwards, we walked to rebecca's place, since it was nearby, where she made me dinner. and since it got so late, i took my bike home on the subway. i think i had enough exercise for one day.
plus, i had to get up early the next morning. a friend from choir had invited me to go hiking upstate with some of his friends. we met at Grand Central at 8:15 am. sooo tired. it was a beautiful hike. none of the forecasted rain showed up. in fact, it was mostly sunny and cool, just perfect for hiking. i actually got some sunburn across my face and the back of my neck. yes, redneck. anyway, it was nice to meet some new people. Arno and i were friends of dalcy, and then there were dalcy's housemates andy and nathan. nathan brought his friend joanna who brought here friend bill. so how many degrees of separation are there between bill and me? one funny thing, though. through conversation, we discovered that nathan and i worked in the same office last summer on the MTA Second Avenue Subway Project; he as engineer and me as an architect. this is where you start singing "it's a small world after all...." at one spot on the "mountain" you could see the skyscrapers in manhattan. that was simply amazing. i'll try to post a few pics soon on my webpage.
and then yesterday (i know this is really long, but i'm almost done. besides, i'm just plotting out drawings right now, so i have time to blab.) between church services i biked down to prospect park in brooklyn for Christina's birthday picnic. another beautiful day outdoors. we had all kinds of food and snacks, and i got to see some folks that i hadn't for a while.
sounds like a fun weekend, right? what did you do? i told you my story....
On friday, i rode my bike from work to meet rebecca for tennis. it was my first time riding over the Queensborough Bridge. well, the first time on the ped/bike path. i rode on the street part last year during the Bike NY Five Boro Bike Tour when they closed it to traffic for us. anyway, i went over the bridge, through central park, over to the upper west side, and up riverside park. that was a workout in itself. i got a court for us at the 119th street hard courts since i had no luck at the clay courts at 96th street. our first round of tennis went pretty well, but i really need to learn how to serve. afterwards, we walked to rebecca's place, since it was nearby, where she made me dinner. and since it got so late, i took my bike home on the subway. i think i had enough exercise for one day.
plus, i had to get up early the next morning. a friend from choir had invited me to go hiking upstate with some of his friends. we met at Grand Central at 8:15 am. sooo tired. it was a beautiful hike. none of the forecasted rain showed up. in fact, it was mostly sunny and cool, just perfect for hiking. i actually got some sunburn across my face and the back of my neck. yes, redneck. anyway, it was nice to meet some new people. Arno and i were friends of dalcy, and then there were dalcy's housemates andy and nathan. nathan brought his friend joanna who brought here friend bill. so how many degrees of separation are there between bill and me? one funny thing, though. through conversation, we discovered that nathan and i worked in the same office last summer on the MTA Second Avenue Subway Project; he as engineer and me as an architect. this is where you start singing "it's a small world after all...." at one spot on the "mountain" you could see the skyscrapers in manhattan. that was simply amazing. i'll try to post a few pics soon on my webpage.
and then yesterday (i know this is really long, but i'm almost done. besides, i'm just plotting out drawings right now, so i have time to blab.) between church services i biked down to prospect park in brooklyn for Christina's birthday picnic. another beautiful day outdoors. we had all kinds of food and snacks, and i got to see some folks that i hadn't for a while.
sounds like a fun weekend, right? what did you do? i told you my story....
May 4, 2004
I'm back from blogger vacation. i feel refreshed and invigorated, thank you. so let's just jump right back in it.
My bosses broke up. I now work for just one architect, not two, so things are a little strange at work. plus, the boss that stayed will be very distracted when his first child is born some time this or next week. i'm not sure if this will give me more responsibility and opportunity at work, or if i will just be struggling to stay busy.
a bunch of us surprised my friend C for her birthday, albeit one week early. some of her friends came from out of town, and we all went out for a three and a half hour dinner to celebrate. guess what we had... sushi. it was my first time, and so everyone said it was funny that i was having my first taste at such a nice place. it had better be good! it was the most expensive meal i've ever paid for; our party of eleven averaged near 70 per head.
but it didn't seem too expensive. that's probably because i had already spent a fortune that day. i went with my friend rebecca to get a tennis permit. a hundred bucks will let you play on any public court in the five boroughs from april through november. so we just have to play a lot to make it worth our while. Permit in hand, we went out and bought tennis racquets. so i think i may have to eat raman for the next month or two; the money is just flowing out of me.
oh, yeah, i think i'll be spending more moolah this week. the lease is supposed to be drawn up for our new apartment, so that means i'll be losing another chunk. heck, that's more like a load. (note: to see a picture of the outside of the new apt build, see the "lookie" section on my homepage.)
anyway, all this money talk has gotten me depressed. oh, but i have good news too. i'm going to visit holly next weekend to help her look at cars. woo-hoo. it's a lot more fun to help spend someone else's money.
conclusion: i guess maybe this blog is tracy's opposite. should i title it "the journey FROM frugality"?
My bosses broke up. I now work for just one architect, not two, so things are a little strange at work. plus, the boss that stayed will be very distracted when his first child is born some time this or next week. i'm not sure if this will give me more responsibility and opportunity at work, or if i will just be struggling to stay busy.
a bunch of us surprised my friend C for her birthday, albeit one week early. some of her friends came from out of town, and we all went out for a three and a half hour dinner to celebrate. guess what we had... sushi. it was my first time, and so everyone said it was funny that i was having my first taste at such a nice place. it had better be good! it was the most expensive meal i've ever paid for; our party of eleven averaged near 70 per head.
but it didn't seem too expensive. that's probably because i had already spent a fortune that day. i went with my friend rebecca to get a tennis permit. a hundred bucks will let you play on any public court in the five boroughs from april through november. so we just have to play a lot to make it worth our while. Permit in hand, we went out and bought tennis racquets. so i think i may have to eat raman for the next month or two; the money is just flowing out of me.
oh, yeah, i think i'll be spending more moolah this week. the lease is supposed to be drawn up for our new apartment, so that means i'll be losing another chunk. heck, that's more like a load. (note: to see a picture of the outside of the new apt build, see the "lookie" section on my homepage.)
anyway, all this money talk has gotten me depressed. oh, but i have good news too. i'm going to visit holly next weekend to help her look at cars. woo-hoo. it's a lot more fun to help spend someone else's money.
conclusion: i guess maybe this blog is tracy's opposite. should i title it "the journey FROM frugality"?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)