Let me precede this with a note that I love mothers. And don't hate Mother's Day. Just this day, which happens to be from hell.
I am currently on the ferry going to work. I believe the end of this blog will take place after work.
Last night was a long night. I don't usually work more than 5 hours at a time at Bonefish, but last night it was Mother's Day Eve, so everyone and their mom was out eating dinner. I had an ungodly amount of work to do in a short amount of time. And Matt made it so no one could leave til everything was done. I don't mind the hours, and quite honestly don't mind the doing work part, but the making salads part is just not going well. My ticket times were getting high, mostly from the onslaught of orders in such a short time. I used almost everything I had in stock at my station, restocked and used it all again. That's a lot of tickers. Got a Creme Brule to go. I hate crème Brule to go. It came in and Matt said, “Do you know how to make a Cremem Brule to go?” to which I answered yes, and he said, “Good, cause I don't. Make it, and I'll handle these salads” Matt and I are similar, very similar. And he's kinda crazy. Told me last night that his mother dropped him on his head when he was a baby. It was out of a moving vehicle. Actually, it was more like he jumped from a moving vehicle onto his head.
We moved some tables after we closed. Some pretty heavy junk there. Trying to make some more seating for Mother's Day. Opened at 11, I missing the 11 ferry by 2 cars, and it's projected to be the busiest day of the year. Needless to say, I don't look forward to it very much. It's not that I don't like mothers, it's just that I don't want to deal with mothers' lunches being possibly not correct. There are so many ways to honor a woman, and making her food is one of them. But I never get any one-on-one with any customers. I'm so used to making the food, and seeing them, or getting feedback from the people, eating it.
Theres a lot of wind on the boat today. Lately theres been a large amount of sea spray while on the ferry. Today is not exception. I am currently getting pelted with water from the front, even though I am not the first in line. I guess I should be glad I'm not on foot or a bike. Or in a convertible. Or one of those jeeps with no doors.
____________________________________________
So now, over 12 hours later, I am laying in bed and not the least bit of me is in a pain-free state. As Dave said, “We got our asses kicked tonight. Everyone was a zombie at 7:30” and we closed at 9:40. Not only was it the busiest freaking day of the year, I had to stay there from an hour passed open to close. In my opinion, that was a bad move on the part of the management. You see, I was pretty much dead by the time Fonzy got there, and then instead of being my replacement, he just helped for a little bit then went to do something else that Matt had for him. Basically, instead of being like any other Sunday, it was awful. I also tore my thumb nail off, which hurt(s) really bad.
I promised [an unmentionable person] that I would blog about him spilling a ton of chowder on the counter / floor. He tried to pour it from a pan into a big pot, and it wasn't a successful transfer.
We moved those giant tables again. I basically took down and moved the whole dining room bu myself. Then got some help from Jo, Fonzy and Z-dawg on the tables. Even Mommy got involved and moved ONE BAR STOOL. The whole place is kinda creepy when it's empty and almost resembles a dance club. And I'm trusting Dave when he says this only happens once a year..
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Birthday
A couple of days ago was Della’s birthday. Last night, we celebrated. So we had this cool cookout / picnic at Midcounty Park, which turned into a rather not fully-cooked fiesta.
In the hours leading up to this, I did quite a few things. I think the first event of the day was getting a shower. Then I went to New Harvest for some soup. Which was actually really good. It tasted sweet, and you added bacon pieces on the top so it was like OMG…….. The events of the afternoon were kinda hot. So obviously a half-priced frap from Starbucks was in order. In celebration for their new “make it how you like” fraps, they are having happy hour (3-5pm) till the 17th I believe. Pick your milk, your flavors, coffee amount, and voila. But just a heads up for all you chai lovers, you’ll need to add an extra pump or two to get the normal taste of chai cream frap. And do a good service to all those in the world that drink chai from Starbucks, and remind them to fully clean their chai pumps every night. It tastes bad otherwise.
I filled up my gas tank today, coming to a total of 19.6 miles per gallon. I was hoping for more, but what can you do? I use Shell gas now, cause I’m a sucker for progress. Not only do I pay out the ear for the same amount of gas, I actually believe that their gas will eventually clean all the gunk from my engine that other gases leave behind. And I also believe it will give me better gas mileage. So until I am proven otherwise, I will probably continue sinking my money in the hole of ill-gotten fuel prices. I suppose there could be another way to get more to the gallon, as one college physics group invented one car that got over 2700 miles to one gallon. I think if we even got a tenth of that awesomeness, we’d be in better shape to demand $10 a gallon.
Ever been to College Creek? I have. Just went there again today. Just take Colonial Parkway from 199, as the route from the Jamestown area is under construction. And as one man said while walking passed where we chose to sit for a bit, “It’s like your own private beach, eh?” Yes, sir. Private indeed. Not only is it within a mile of a federally and locally protected animal reservoir, a high security power facility, and viewable from more than 10 miles down river, it is a highly private location. It has a warning sign that urges you not to swim, as the waters are known to have very strong rip currents and the area is unfit for swimming. But what would anything with ‘college’ in the title be without a significant amount of rule breaking? If you get a chance to go, it’s a nice peaceful place. It’s pretty out-of-the-way, so there aren’t too many people there all the time. I obviously say that based on the two times I have been there and not seen more than fifty people.
So while we are at college creek, I get a call from Jason that he needs me to bring a lighter. Apparently the whole idea of a cookout was planned with the grill, the charcoal, the hamburgers, condiments, buns and no fire-creation utensil. Flint? Two sticks? Pure hydrogen and a car lighter? The sun? ( now you laugh at the idea of the sun being an instrument to lighting a fire, but just take the story Della told us tonight at dinner: A man walked into Starbucks asking for a cup of water. He was very calm and patient, waiting for this cup. When he was given it, he said he was going to use it to put out the fire in the mulch just outside the door. When asked if he threw a cigarette in it to cause said fire, he denied and blamed the sun for being so hot as to ignite the mulch) So in 15 minutes, we arrived on scene and helped ‘light’ the fire. The first time. It went out and we used a very large quantity of lighter fluid to get it working. Our burgers were ‘undercooked’ as everyone was so very quick to point out. Jason said he would never throw another picnic. Poor Jason..
The ending of this night was a viewing of Iron Man 2. I simply can’t understand why it would cost $10 for a movie ticket. I could, in a matter of months, wait and pay that amount to watch the same movie, not fight for lines or seating, and watch it many times over in the comfort of my home, with a pause button, unlimited snacks and drinks, and a private bathroom that I don’t feel awkward taking a dump in. Even still, a theatrical performance is stunning, with the size of the action being larger than life and the sounds coming from all angles, with bass so loud you can feel it in your stomach.
Iron Man 2 takes place immediately after the events of Iron Man, even going the distance to show the footage from the end a second time. It doesn’t take long to get into a lot of action, and good humor. And then some pervy humor. All within a good bounds. Russians, physics, electricity, race cars, bad guys, prison, out of prison, blood toxicity, fake good guys, stupid government, stupid bad guy, drones, The Ex-Wife, new elements, explosions, lasers, kissing, kicking ass, CEO, not CEO, crazy desk objects, dear-old-dad, Expo, and an eye patch. There also is a little segment at the end of the credits, as with the first movie, only this time it takes place in Mexico, and only gives a slight hint at the implied continuation of the story.
There were so many people at the showing that we had to buy tickets early in the day and still couldn’t sit in the same area. Which was fine.
So all in all, Happy Birthday Della
In the hours leading up to this, I did quite a few things. I think the first event of the day was getting a shower. Then I went to New Harvest for some soup. Which was actually really good. It tasted sweet, and you added bacon pieces on the top so it was like OMG…….. The events of the afternoon were kinda hot. So obviously a half-priced frap from Starbucks was in order. In celebration for their new “make it how you like” fraps, they are having happy hour (3-5pm) till the 17th I believe. Pick your milk, your flavors, coffee amount, and voila. But just a heads up for all you chai lovers, you’ll need to add an extra pump or two to get the normal taste of chai cream frap. And do a good service to all those in the world that drink chai from Starbucks, and remind them to fully clean their chai pumps every night. It tastes bad otherwise.
I filled up my gas tank today, coming to a total of 19.6 miles per gallon. I was hoping for more, but what can you do? I use Shell gas now, cause I’m a sucker for progress. Not only do I pay out the ear for the same amount of gas, I actually believe that their gas will eventually clean all the gunk from my engine that other gases leave behind. And I also believe it will give me better gas mileage. So until I am proven otherwise, I will probably continue sinking my money in the hole of ill-gotten fuel prices. I suppose there could be another way to get more to the gallon, as one college physics group invented one car that got over 2700 miles to one gallon. I think if we even got a tenth of that awesomeness, we’d be in better shape to demand $10 a gallon.
Ever been to College Creek? I have. Just went there again today. Just take Colonial Parkway from 199, as the route from the Jamestown area is under construction. And as one man said while walking passed where we chose to sit for a bit, “It’s like your own private beach, eh?” Yes, sir. Private indeed. Not only is it within a mile of a federally and locally protected animal reservoir, a high security power facility, and viewable from more than 10 miles down river, it is a highly private location. It has a warning sign that urges you not to swim, as the waters are known to have very strong rip currents and the area is unfit for swimming. But what would anything with ‘college’ in the title be without a significant amount of rule breaking? If you get a chance to go, it’s a nice peaceful place. It’s pretty out-of-the-way, so there aren’t too many people there all the time. I obviously say that based on the two times I have been there and not seen more than fifty people.
So while we are at college creek, I get a call from Jason that he needs me to bring a lighter. Apparently the whole idea of a cookout was planned with the grill, the charcoal, the hamburgers, condiments, buns and no fire-creation utensil. Flint? Two sticks? Pure hydrogen and a car lighter? The sun? ( now you laugh at the idea of the sun being an instrument to lighting a fire, but just take the story Della told us tonight at dinner: A man walked into Starbucks asking for a cup of water. He was very calm and patient, waiting for this cup. When he was given it, he said he was going to use it to put out the fire in the mulch just outside the door. When asked if he threw a cigarette in it to cause said fire, he denied and blamed the sun for being so hot as to ignite the mulch) So in 15 minutes, we arrived on scene and helped ‘light’ the fire. The first time. It went out and we used a very large quantity of lighter fluid to get it working. Our burgers were ‘undercooked’ as everyone was so very quick to point out. Jason said he would never throw another picnic. Poor Jason..
The ending of this night was a viewing of Iron Man 2. I simply can’t understand why it would cost $10 for a movie ticket. I could, in a matter of months, wait and pay that amount to watch the same movie, not fight for lines or seating, and watch it many times over in the comfort of my home, with a pause button, unlimited snacks and drinks, and a private bathroom that I don’t feel awkward taking a dump in. Even still, a theatrical performance is stunning, with the size of the action being larger than life and the sounds coming from all angles, with bass so loud you can feel it in your stomach.
Iron Man 2 takes place immediately after the events of Iron Man, even going the distance to show the footage from the end a second time. It doesn’t take long to get into a lot of action, and good humor. And then some pervy humor. All within a good bounds. Russians, physics, electricity, race cars, bad guys, prison, out of prison, blood toxicity, fake good guys, stupid government, stupid bad guy, drones, The Ex-Wife, new elements, explosions, lasers, kissing, kicking ass, CEO, not CEO, crazy desk objects, dear-old-dad, Expo, and an eye patch. There also is a little segment at the end of the credits, as with the first movie, only this time it takes place in Mexico, and only gives a slight hint at the implied continuation of the story.
There were so many people at the showing that we had to buy tickets early in the day and still couldn’t sit in the same area. Which was fine.
So all in all, Happy Birthday Della
Friday, May 7, 2010
Scum
I thought this one deserved a little place in a blog. So the past few days, the ice cream freezer has been kinda funny at work. It had some melted ice cream in the bottom, and the giant tubs of ice cream were always soft. I thought it might ‘get resolved’ by now, but since it was still nasty last night, I decided to inquire about it. Dennis didn’t even know it was acting up. It had been unplugged for a while, I guessed, and there was melted ice cream in the bottom. The stench was unbelievable. I could barely hold myself from puking right there. Dennis said to clean it out. Ugh.. This thing weighs like 50 lbs and is on 4-inch casters. Bottom heavy, and 3 feet tall by (2 long and 1 wide) – it is not easy to tip over. So with the utmost precision I had to dump out the ungodly scented cream and rinse with hot water using a little bucket. Two rinses later I was able to stand it back up and proceed to wiping it out with water and then sanitizing solution. The smell never went away. I plugged it back in and cracked the lid to let it air out some. I swear if anyone spills something in there I’m gonna kill ‘em..
Oh hey, but the cool thing is that the other night I had a ticket come in for a Special Occasion, which is currently a brownie with Melba sauce, whipped cream, macadamia nuts and a sprig of mint. I made it look all pretty and put it in the window. Shortly after, another one came in and Dave came running around the corner saying, “Yo Sam, that last Special Occasion looked amazing. I’m gonna take a picture of this next one and send it to Dennis” Oh. Yeah.
In other news, I looked into Ubuntu 10.4 LTS this week. Downloaded the image and loaded it onto a laptop to test it. It mostly worked great except for no native wireless support. Which for me is a big deal. The other problem is that, since I was dual-booting with Windows 7, I would switch between the two to get some files on a flashdrive, etc.. but every time I went back into Win7 the touchpad wouldn’t work on first boot. So I had to reboot twice to use the mouse.
I shortly gave up on using Ubuntu and uninstalled. I was then looking at the website to see about downloading 9.10 (the latest stable version) but couldn’t find it. In the process, though, I came across Wubi.exe: a file to install Ubuntu within Windows, so you don’t need an extra partition. That got me thinking, and I put my 10.4 LTS disc back in. Within Windows there was an option to install Ubuntu. So I now have that set up. The problem with the wireless drivers and mouse drivers in Windows are still there. Though I‘ve read about using NDISWrapper in Ubuntu to get the Windows drivers working, I haven’t had any luck yet. I got all the components downloaded and installed, installed the drivers, and rebooted, but it still seems to have trouble. In fact, the Hardware Drivers Manager thing (that manages 3rd party proprietary drivers) still opened up and suggested 2 drivers: a generic, free licensed driver for Broadcom 43xx, and another version that was proprietary. I ended up doing the proprietary one, since it seemed to math the description of the wireless card. I now think that was a bad idea. Even after uninstalling it, it is the only option. The ‘free use’ driver disappeared. And with that NDIS stuff, I loaded two separate drivers and neither seemed to allow connections. Guess I’ll just have to fiddle with it a while.
So as I close here, I’ll say that Facebook’s blog import service sucks. I write a blog, post it on Blogspot at 8AM, and it posts 36 hours later on Facebook. I seriously have started writing my next blog by that time.
Kthnxbye
Oh hey, but the cool thing is that the other night I had a ticket come in for a Special Occasion, which is currently a brownie with Melba sauce, whipped cream, macadamia nuts and a sprig of mint. I made it look all pretty and put it in the window. Shortly after, another one came in and Dave came running around the corner saying, “Yo Sam, that last Special Occasion looked amazing. I’m gonna take a picture of this next one and send it to Dennis” Oh. Yeah.
In other news, I looked into Ubuntu 10.4 LTS this week. Downloaded the image and loaded it onto a laptop to test it. It mostly worked great except for no native wireless support. Which for me is a big deal. The other problem is that, since I was dual-booting with Windows 7, I would switch between the two to get some files on a flashdrive, etc.. but every time I went back into Win7 the touchpad wouldn’t work on first boot. So I had to reboot twice to use the mouse.
I shortly gave up on using Ubuntu and uninstalled. I was then looking at the website to see about downloading 9.10 (the latest stable version) but couldn’t find it. In the process, though, I came across Wubi.exe: a file to install Ubuntu within Windows, so you don’t need an extra partition. That got me thinking, and I put my 10.4 LTS disc back in. Within Windows there was an option to install Ubuntu. So I now have that set up. The problem with the wireless drivers and mouse drivers in Windows are still there. Though I‘ve read about using NDISWrapper in Ubuntu to get the Windows drivers working, I haven’t had any luck yet. I got all the components downloaded and installed, installed the drivers, and rebooted, but it still seems to have trouble. In fact, the Hardware Drivers Manager thing (that manages 3rd party proprietary drivers) still opened up and suggested 2 drivers: a generic, free licensed driver for Broadcom 43xx, and another version that was proprietary. I ended up doing the proprietary one, since it seemed to math the description of the wireless card. I now think that was a bad idea. Even after uninstalling it, it is the only option. The ‘free use’ driver disappeared. And with that NDIS stuff, I loaded two separate drivers and neither seemed to allow connections. Guess I’ll just have to fiddle with it a while.
So as I close here, I’ll say that Facebook’s blog import service sucks. I write a blog, post it on Blogspot at 8AM, and it posts 36 hours later on Facebook. I seriously have started writing my next blog by that time.
Kthnxbye
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Ultramotion, super fast, every time that you walk past..
Who would have thought that cinnamon and raspberry would taste good together? Well, specifically cinnamon crunch bagel and raspberry cream cheese from Panera.
Can't seem to shake the idea of music from my life. And I mean, music being a majority share holder, in modern business terms. I don't want to let go of it. It drives me. I've posted about this before, and it stays true, if not even more relevant, than ever before.
My collection reached 7000 songs today.
My Wish List on Amazon (http://amzn.com/w/3BTPX6KQW7GJ7) is at almost 80 albums, which I think would cost me about $600.
I could probably buy a car with the money I've spent on music over the years.
My mom and I were talking about the future and she mentioned that if I don't have a specific direction in life, a unique burning desire to do something, then God might have had that in me. I have a large set of skills that I've acquired over the years of doing all kinds of things, but none of them are things I would want to build my life around. I tried doing computer work, I've been in kitchen prep since I was 8, and I still can't say I love doing either as employment. I like food, so I don't want to get tired of seeing and doing things with it. I already dislike salads cause I make so many. I think I might actually get as much nutrition from looking at the salad as much as I do as one would actually eating the salad.
The point of what she was saying is that God has given me interest and ability in many areas, and not letting myself become defined by what I do is a major goal. I've always had the word "nomad" in my head, and our topic at New Harvest the passed few weeks has been on Sabbath (rest) - not being defined, or gaining your worth, by your production, but not being lazy.
So what's wrong with traveling the world, working for others, and living free? Might say, "that's for some, not everyone.." so, yeah, maybe it is. But I can't shut down the idea of doing it just because it doesn't conform to the American Dream.
A guy at work asked me last night about sleeping with a girlfriend. He was shocked to know that I wouldn't do it until I was married. A few minutes later he asked if I wanted to. My response: "I'm a male."
Later he brought it up again, asking if he could ask why it was I would wait. I told him it was, for one, not something that Christians support. For two, emotions-based. I'm not just a little goody Christian that won't have sex. I took a class in college about interacting with other people. Actually it was Sociology of the Family and Relationships. In that class, obviously sex would crop up. And it was so interesting, just in our class, the different views of sex. A guy was cohabiting with his girlfriend for 6 years. A girl was marrying an older guy (like 20 years older) because they had great sex. One was a swinger. Several just didn't have any luck with their boyfriend / girlfriend. Some were waiting till after college to get involved with someone, so they could focus on their schooling. There was a large portion of the class that the teacher devoted to emotions. And sex was a big player in that game. Basically, I've heard enough stories to know it makes a difference.
I think that in our current culture, the rules of religion don't matter. It's mostly about pleasure. Even my mom said the other day, "it used to be easy: you had two options; go to college, or get married and get a job. Now, you can get a degree and spend years in school and still not get a job in your field." So the options aren't as minimal anymore. You can do whatever you want whenever you want. Pure freedom.
I think I need to read another book.
Can't seem to shake the idea of music from my life. And I mean, music being a majority share holder, in modern business terms. I don't want to let go of it. It drives me. I've posted about this before, and it stays true, if not even more relevant, than ever before.
My collection reached 7000 songs today.
My Wish List on Amazon (http://amzn.com/w/3BTPX6KQW7GJ7) is at almost 80 albums, which I think would cost me about $600.
I could probably buy a car with the money I've spent on music over the years.
My mom and I were talking about the future and she mentioned that if I don't have a specific direction in life, a unique burning desire to do something, then God might have had that in me. I have a large set of skills that I've acquired over the years of doing all kinds of things, but none of them are things I would want to build my life around. I tried doing computer work, I've been in kitchen prep since I was 8, and I still can't say I love doing either as employment. I like food, so I don't want to get tired of seeing and doing things with it. I already dislike salads cause I make so many. I think I might actually get as much nutrition from looking at the salad as much as I do as one would actually eating the salad.
The point of what she was saying is that God has given me interest and ability in many areas, and not letting myself become defined by what I do is a major goal. I've always had the word "nomad" in my head, and our topic at New Harvest the passed few weeks has been on Sabbath (rest) - not being defined, or gaining your worth, by your production, but not being lazy.
So what's wrong with traveling the world, working for others, and living free? Might say, "that's for some, not everyone.." so, yeah, maybe it is. But I can't shut down the idea of doing it just because it doesn't conform to the American Dream.
A guy at work asked me last night about sleeping with a girlfriend. He was shocked to know that I wouldn't do it until I was married. A few minutes later he asked if I wanted to. My response: "I'm a male."
Later he brought it up again, asking if he could ask why it was I would wait. I told him it was, for one, not something that Christians support. For two, emotions-based. I'm not just a little goody Christian that won't have sex. I took a class in college about interacting with other people. Actually it was Sociology of the Family and Relationships. In that class, obviously sex would crop up. And it was so interesting, just in our class, the different views of sex. A guy was cohabiting with his girlfriend for 6 years. A girl was marrying an older guy (like 20 years older) because they had great sex. One was a swinger. Several just didn't have any luck with their boyfriend / girlfriend. Some were waiting till after college to get involved with someone, so they could focus on their schooling. There was a large portion of the class that the teacher devoted to emotions. And sex was a big player in that game. Basically, I've heard enough stories to know it makes a difference.
I think that in our current culture, the rules of religion don't matter. It's mostly about pleasure. Even my mom said the other day, "it used to be easy: you had two options; go to college, or get married and get a job. Now, you can get a degree and spend years in school and still not get a job in your field." So the options aren't as minimal anymore. You can do whatever you want whenever you want. Pure freedom.
I think I need to read another book.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Impromptu
Earlier I posted about how the area near William and Mary is such a neat place. I haven't had much time to explore the area, but I certainly intend to keep it as a viable destination.
On this particular day, Heidi and I took a day off and went over to the Burg. Now we initially had planned on going to Virginia Beach, but for whatever reasons we didn't have time. So, since we didn't have any particular plans laid, we started to check off some things we had on our to-do list.
1) Coffee from Harbour Coffee in Newtown
Well, that was a fail. Cause they actually close at 5pm, and I could have sworn they were open till 9 on the weekends...
2) Also known as 1) Trader Joe's!
Everybody know that Trader Joe's has like a butt-ton of naturally-grown / raised products, the word "organic" also applies. Get chocolate, or I guess anything that would be inexpensive and yummy (oh yeah, like Danish Bleu Cheese) We got some dark chocolates. Now, be careful when you buy stuff, cause you have to read the price tags correctly. Paid $4 for what we thought was labeled $2.
3) Crim Dell
This was probably on our list the longest, and it takes up the most space in this post. We parked in P2 just behind W&M Bookseller (Barnes and Nobel) and walked up Duke of Gloucester St. to 'Confusion Corner' and on past the Wren Building on the college campus. Now, the ENTIRE walk there was full of amazing natural design, like trees and bushes, and several very old structures like statues and fences. About a quarter of a mile past DoG St. is the wood line, behind which lies the Crim Dell. Since the last time I had ever read instructions of how to find this thing, all I remembered was "straight line behind the Wren building" so.. that's what we did (sorta..) Found a path that led around to the left, and took that. Saw some benches next to dense woods, but ignored them. Around the left side we came to another road that seemed to circle the wooded area where the Crim Dell is. About halfway down that road we actually saw it, but since the road was rope-lined, we decided not to jump the guide. Down the hill is a paved road that goes over the little reservoir. From this point you can see, very well, the Crim Dell itself. Following another path that winds through some very dense forest, we found ourselves behind the area with the benches. Yet again we follow a path that leads right to the Crim Dell. It's a nice little area, and the ramps are rather steep. Legend has it (haha... legend...) "if you kiss your lover as you cross the bridge, you will end up marrying him/her, but if you cross alone, you are destined to be alone the rest of your life." Go try it? We didn't.
Around the area is also Wildflower Refuge, which has NO flowers, period. Theres also a bunch of other paths in the area, so it's not like you are limited on walking space. The campus itself takes up 1200 acres ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_William_and_Mary). And theres a whole ton of shopping in that area.
So on the way back to the vehicle, we stopped at this small memorial place or something. It's a small set of busts from the Tyler family, and on the front of the base of them are the names of descendants to attend William and Mary. We sat on the cement half-circle bench for a moment, and suddenly we weren't alone. A strange couple, the woman wearing long purple hair that went almost to her feet, and the man wearing a set of yellow bunny ears. The both approached in an odd manor, the woman slightly dancing. She proceeded behind us, he in front, stopping to give me a plastic egg, while she threw a handful of flower petals on us. Neither said a word and left immediately. So you can imagine the oddity and the list of things that could possibly be in the egg. We waited to open it till we were in the Jeep. So in my mind, I'm thinking maybe a spring-loaded snake would jump out, maybe anthrax.. seriously had NO idea what it was. So if you want to know what it was, ask ;P
4) Baker's Crust
I have seen a Baker's Crust before, in Richmond. Always thought it would be comparable to Panera, so I am glad to have checked it out. Now, I will automatically say it wasn't nearly as high-class as Bonefish, but it was a warm atmosphere (which the website resembles very well). Seemed to be a slow night, and being our first time in, felt a little out of place... The host guy took a while to even acknowledge us, and then he finally took us to a seat. The menu was large, with plenty of choices. I don't like expensive places, and this place wasn't much more than somewhere like Olive Garden. I think I made a bad choice on dinner, but it was still fine. I have almost fully decided that the best meal to get when eating out is a pasta-based entree with meat. Cause you can't get that at fast-food places, and you don't really want to make it at home. So aside from also taking a long time to get in and out, I would give it 3.5 out of 5.
5) ICE CREAM!!! Ben and Jerry's OH SNAP IT"S GONE!.. COFFEE!!! Starbucks THEY CLOSE AT 9:30 *whew*
Yeah. Starbucks.
6) Ferry
I almost shudder at adding either of the last two. I mean, Starbucks and Ferry were NOT on my list of things to do in life. But we did go there, and we did miss the 9:30 ferry by being 1 car passed the limit. So we walked back up to Jamestown and fought a mountain lion that Mary has been training the past few weeks. It was interesting though that those Blue Herons that live in the area like to land on the pier and don't mid cars, but dang, get within a hundred yards on foot and they get the heck outta Dodge.
Newtown is kinda cool. I think once WalMart pops in most people won't need to leave the area unless they get with others that, um, don't live in Newtown.. But I'm sure it's worth the $1500/month for 1100 sq. ft. town houses. I prefer cheaper and less crowded places to live.
On another note, the moon has been pretty amazing this week. Full, on rise, it has an awesome looking orange tone. Take a picture, or just take the time to look at it.
On this particular day, Heidi and I took a day off and went over to the Burg. Now we initially had planned on going to Virginia Beach, but for whatever reasons we didn't have time. So, since we didn't have any particular plans laid, we started to check off some things we had on our to-do list.
1) Coffee from Harbour Coffee in Newtown
Well, that was a fail. Cause they actually close at 5pm, and I could have sworn they were open till 9 on the weekends...
2) Also known as 1) Trader Joe's!
Everybody know that Trader Joe's has like a butt-ton of naturally-grown / raised products, the word "organic" also applies. Get chocolate, or I guess anything that would be inexpensive and yummy (oh yeah, like Danish Bleu Cheese) We got some dark chocolates. Now, be careful when you buy stuff, cause you have to read the price tags correctly. Paid $4 for what we thought was labeled $2.
3) Crim Dell
This was probably on our list the longest, and it takes up the most space in this post. We parked in P2 just behind W&M Bookseller (Barnes and Nobel) and walked up Duke of Gloucester St. to 'Confusion Corner' and on past the Wren Building on the college campus. Now, the ENTIRE walk there was full of amazing natural design, like trees and bushes, and several very old structures like statues and fences. About a quarter of a mile past DoG St. is the wood line, behind which lies the Crim Dell. Since the last time I had ever read instructions of how to find this thing, all I remembered was "straight line behind the Wren building" so.. that's what we did (sorta..) Found a path that led around to the left, and took that. Saw some benches next to dense woods, but ignored them. Around the left side we came to another road that seemed to circle the wooded area where the Crim Dell is. About halfway down that road we actually saw it, but since the road was rope-lined, we decided not to jump the guide. Down the hill is a paved road that goes over the little reservoir. From this point you can see, very well, the Crim Dell itself. Following another path that winds through some very dense forest, we found ourselves behind the area with the benches. Yet again we follow a path that leads right to the Crim Dell. It's a nice little area, and the ramps are rather steep. Legend has it (haha... legend...) "if you kiss your lover as you cross the bridge, you will end up marrying him/her, but if you cross alone, you are destined to be alone the rest of your life." Go try it? We didn't.
Around the area is also Wildflower Refuge, which has NO flowers, period. Theres also a bunch of other paths in the area, so it's not like you are limited on walking space. The campus itself takes up 1200 acres ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_William_and_Mary). And theres a whole ton of shopping in that area.
So on the way back to the vehicle, we stopped at this small memorial place or something. It's a small set of busts from the Tyler family, and on the front of the base of them are the names of descendants to attend William and Mary. We sat on the cement half-circle bench for a moment, and suddenly we weren't alone. A strange couple, the woman wearing long purple hair that went almost to her feet, and the man wearing a set of yellow bunny ears. The both approached in an odd manor, the woman slightly dancing. She proceeded behind us, he in front, stopping to give me a plastic egg, while she threw a handful of flower petals on us. Neither said a word and left immediately. So you can imagine the oddity and the list of things that could possibly be in the egg. We waited to open it till we were in the Jeep. So in my mind, I'm thinking maybe a spring-loaded snake would jump out, maybe anthrax.. seriously had NO idea what it was. So if you want to know what it was, ask ;P
4) Baker's Crust
I have seen a Baker's Crust before, in Richmond. Always thought it would be comparable to Panera, so I am glad to have checked it out. Now, I will automatically say it wasn't nearly as high-class as Bonefish, but it was a warm atmosphere (which the website resembles very well). Seemed to be a slow night, and being our first time in, felt a little out of place... The host guy took a while to even acknowledge us, and then he finally took us to a seat. The menu was large, with plenty of choices. I don't like expensive places, and this place wasn't much more than somewhere like Olive Garden. I think I made a bad choice on dinner, but it was still fine. I have almost fully decided that the best meal to get when eating out is a pasta-based entree with meat. Cause you can't get that at fast-food places, and you don't really want to make it at home. So aside from also taking a long time to get in and out, I would give it 3.5 out of 5.
5) ICE CREAM!!! Ben and Jerry's OH SNAP IT"S GONE!.. COFFEE!!! Starbucks THEY CLOSE AT 9:30 *whew*
Yeah. Starbucks.
6) Ferry
I almost shudder at adding either of the last two. I mean, Starbucks and Ferry were NOT on my list of things to do in life. But we did go there, and we did miss the 9:30 ferry by being 1 car passed the limit. So we walked back up to Jamestown and fought a mountain lion that Mary has been training the past few weeks. It was interesting though that those Blue Herons that live in the area like to land on the pier and don't mid cars, but dang, get within a hundred yards on foot and they get the heck outta Dodge.
Newtown is kinda cool. I think once WalMart pops in most people won't need to leave the area unless they get with others that, um, don't live in Newtown.. But I'm sure it's worth the $1500/month for 1100 sq. ft. town houses. I prefer cheaper and less crowded places to live.
On another note, the moon has been pretty amazing this week. Full, on rise, it has an awesome looking orange tone. Take a picture, or just take the time to look at it.
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