Making This Carbon Neutral

Alright, I'm not a crazy activist, and sometimes I feel horribly overwhelmed with everything that needs to be fixed about the planet we live on. I do everything in my power (and budget) to help. Now, I'm pleased to announce that I can make this blog carbon neutral for the next 50 years. No, seriously.

There's this wonderful programme called "My blog is carbon neutral" that was started in Germany. How does it work? Well, for every blog that sends in, they plant a tree. For free. They'll do it for websites too, and you get this nifty badge I have here on the top left hand side of my blog.

Click this link to go to the site and check it out yourself.

Every little bit helps.

Oh and there's one more Ziggs.com search to mention:

Visitor Location: Albany, NY
Date: April 26, 2010
Time: 2:18 PM EST

That's it everyone. Have a great weekend!

New York, Day Three

April 25, 2010

I had slept well the night of the 24th, much to the consternation of my Sifu, who wondered where it was I had gotten to that night. Apparently the group that had returned to the hotel with the bus all went out for ice-cream, which turned into going out for cheap beer instead. I'm not sorry I missed it. I was tired and I don't like beer.

*sounds of static*

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming with this news flash:

Yesterday afternoon at approximately 1:08 pm, an agent had requested more material. Please remain calm and do not panic. Simply because an agent asks for more material does not mean they will offer up a contract. I repeat, remain calm. The requested material was sent and the matter will be resolved shortly.

*sounds of static*

Wake up was a little later in the morning, as the bus wasn't to leave until about 9:00 am. As I woke up at 6:30 am, this meant a nice period of approximately 40 minutes of lying in bed and daydreaming, before the rest of the gang in the room woke. It also ensured a nice leisurely breakfast before boarding the bus.

Our destination before heading home that morning was the Woodbury Outlet Mall, an outdoor mall with tonnes of stores to go shopping in. It was a cold, rainy morning with no signs of abating for the entire hour drive there.

Shopping really isn't my thing. The stuff I really liked was well and truly out of my budget (139.00 for a summer dress? Seriously?), and the rest of the stuff was either trashy or not in my size. I did manage to walk away with a nice pair of black trousers for $15.00 (regularly $89.00 - hah hah!), but became frustrated shortly thereafter and returned to the bus to sleep.

It was only an hour and a bit later before we were one our way back to Ottawa. The eight hour drive didn't seem like eight hours. I read a lot, watched Romeo Must Die, and slept. We arrived back at the Baseline Station Park and Ride, and headed immediately to the bus stop. No sooner did I arrive but then the 118 stopped. I jumped on and was home before 10:30.

It was a fabulous trip, but I was very glad to be back home with my kitties and in my own bed.

And that was my three day weekend in New York. Oh, before I go, here is a the promised photo of the cauldron that was the large drink size at the Burger King we stopped at on the way in (it's all shaky and blurry because I was dying of hunger and my hands wouldn't keep still):

New York, Day 2, Part Two: Dying of Laughter

My mission was successfully completed, in so far as I could control. The rest is up to the U.S. Postal Service to ensure that the envelopes get to their intended recipients. It was out of my hands. With most of the day left to kill, so to speak, I headed out to Fifth Ave. It was a beautiful day, and warranted a walk. I figured that I could walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was on 33rd, and I needed to get to 81st. 47 blocks. No sweat.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. There was a cool breeze, and the sun was warm. Not a cloud in the sky. Now, for some of you 47 blocks might seem like a bit much. It's really not. That might be because I walk to work and back every day.

For those of you who are unaware, Fifth Ave. is beautiful. It's nice and wide, so you don't feel so closed in, and there are some really beautiful churches along that route. I decided to take a smap of a couple of the sights that caught my eye.

These are the doors to St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Ave. The Cathedral itself was under renovations, so there was scaffolding everywhere. Still pretty, non?









The Church of St. Thomas.












This was my favourite part of the walk up Fifth Ave. To my immediate left, Central Park. These trees over the footpath like that were just gorgeous. I love trees.









And then, there was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. By far my most favourite thing about New York.









I made it to the Met. in just under and hour, so it was roughly the same distance from my house to my work back in Ottawa. The walk was so wonderful, and early enough in the morning that there weren't that many people about, that I was utterly relaxed before I even stepped foot inside the building.

Deciding that I deserved a short break, and more food, I sat on the stairs of the Met. and soaked up some sunshine while I ate my riceworks chip things. No sooner had I sat down than this musical group of five (four singers and a bassist) began to entertain the crowd with some lovely singing. I stayed fro the entire length of their first son (my girl), before deciding that the crowd they were drawing was getting too large for my tastes. I retired to bliss inside the Met.

I took so many photos of things, it isn't funny. However, there were two things that caught my eye, and made me laugh. The first thing was more of a quite giggle and my own geekiness (new word. If Shakespear can do it, I can). For those of you who are Stargate fans, this ought to tickle you too:



The images say all the words I want to.






This next one was far too funny not too share. It had me laughing for almost a full half hour. Sure, the loud laughter was only five minutes, but for a long time afterwards, and in galleries far, far away, I would think back and giggle. I'm going to let you guess why I found this so funny:

Hint: (If you hold Ctrl while scrolling the mouse wheel, you can zoom in and out).

There were tonnes more photos, but I didn't have room to put them all here. If you want to see more of what I saw, click here to view my Picasa album.

After wandering through the Met. until about 2:30pm, I wandered outside to listen to music and ended up spying my Kung Fu brothers K.C. and M.F. I ran down to greet them and we all sat in the shade and listened to a man play classical guitar beautifully before we decided to wander through Central Park as the tour bus was very, very late. New York traffic, you understand. It was roughly 5:00pm before we were all back on the bus and headed into Flushing to meet with another Kung Fu uncle in the Chinatown there and have dinner.

By 8:30pm, the time when we all met the bus to return to our hotel, I was exhausted. Needless to say, the day was wonderful, and, being so closed in with people the whole trip, getting out on my own was lovely and very much needed!

To be continued...

New York, Day Two, Part One: Mission Impossible

(Sorry for the lateness of this post, the photos took forever to upload from my camera)

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

6:55am.

Good Morning S.M. Carrière. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find a Post Office and mail the post-only queries prepared for you. You will find the envelopes in the satchel by your bed. Please note that each envelope contains a smaller envelope, upon which is to be affixed sufficient U.S. postage to be mailed to Canada. Everything you need is either with you now, or can be purchased at your destination. Good luck to you.

This recording will self-destruct in 3... 2... 1... *poof

Does anyone smell smoke?

Breakfast was early Saturday morning. Well, early for my exhausted self. I managed to be dressed and down for breakfast at around about 7:30am. Not bad. The bus would leave at 8:00am to take us into Manhattan for a bus tour. Given my mission, taking that tour was not an option. It was fortunate, then, that we were given the option.

Having been in New York once before, and not terribly enthralled with big cities, I decided to strike out on my own at the drop off point - 34th street and Fifth Ave. It was imperative that I find a post office. As it turned out, my good friend S.D., had acquired a map from a contact that had all the post offices listed on it. Knowing my desire, she very kindly accompanied me on my mission.

After a great deal of fruitless walking, it became painfully apparent that she had been double-crossed. The dirty rats gave her a map that was mis-marked. Damn them. Under the guise of clueless tourists, we wandered the streets of Manhattan, occasionally accosting employees at various stores for information. Twice we asked in vain. The third attempt yielded some results. There was, according to this source, the main post office behind Madison Square Gardens on Eigth. I had become suspicious at that point, but had no choice but to at least check it out. Thus, S.D. and I headed there only to find the mother of all post offices.

The mother of all post offices.

With marked relief, we wandered inside and lined up. S.D., her assistance no longer required, departed to wander Manhattan and shop. Shopping was never my thing. I stood in line for only a brief moment before summoned to window no. 8 and was greeted by a woman who looked like a Caribbean of Indian decent, and suspiciously like my friend's mother, M.H.

'How can I help you today?' she asked in an accent that was a curious mix of the hard sounds of American English, and the musical inflection of an Islander.
"I must send these," I replied with smile. "But I have envelopes inside that require sufficient postage to be returned to Canada."
"I don't understand, dear, what do you mean?"
I frowned. What does she mean 'what do I mean.' I mean just what I said. I tried again. She shook her head.
"I still don't understand you."
Was there a secret password I required?
"I need international postage for letters going to Canada."
"You're sending these to Canada."
"No." Was she playing me? Was this some agent from the other side sent to confound me? "I'm sending these within America, but the companies I'm sending to require postage for a letter to Canada."
"So they're sending something back to you in return?"
Has this woman never heard of such things? "Yes."
"Oh, I see. You'll need 75c stamps then."
"Will that get them to Canada?"
"Yes."
"Then I need 75c stamps."
"How many?"
At last! I'm getting somewhere.

With everything organised, I needed only to apply the postage and seal the envelopes. Graciously allowing me to cut the growing line once the sealing was completed, the post office assistant then weighed all my envelopes of various sizes, applied the postage and handed them back to me.
"You'll need to drop these off at window 49. Make sure you put the big ones where it says 'large envelopes.'"
"Right, thanks!" I started moving off.
"It's that way," the attendant said, pointing in the opposite direction I was headed.
"Oh, thank-you."

I could feel her eyes on my back as I delivered the envelopes, and hoped to high heaven that she wasn't an agent from the other side. Suddenly the spacious and beautifully decorated interior of the post office got to me. I needed out and fast.

Inside the post office. Pretty, yes?

I was not obstructed as I pushed through the rotating doors into the warm sun. It was still early morning, and there weren't that many people about. Feeling safe enough outside, I sat on the steps of the post office and ate a fruit cup. It was no-sugar added. Unfolding my map, and knowing I did not have to report back until 8:30 that evening, I searched the map for directions to the one thing I desperately needed to see: the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Satisfied that I could now find my way without constantly consulting the map and giving myself away, I folded the map and stowed it in the now-empty satchel I carried at my side. Finishing my fruit cup quickly, I squared my shoulders and, with a cursory glance to ensure I wasn't being followed, set off in search of Fifth Ave.

To be continued....

Trip To New York, Day One

Friday, April 23rd, 2010.

The day started off in a terrible frenzy. We were all to be awake and at the Baseline Park and Ride no later than 5:45am. The bus was to leave at 6:00am sharp. I awoke at 3:50am without the aid of the alarm clock and got dressed, mostly. Realising that I did not have to be awake for another half hour, I lay back down on the bed and stretched.

I'm not quite sure what happened, but when I next looked at the clock, it was precisely 5:42am. Swearing in a manner closely resembling Hugh Grant's character in Four Weddings and a Funeral, I flew off my bed and into my flatmate's room and with a plaintive whine said, "uh, Jazz... It's a quarter to 6. The bus leaves in ten minutes."

Also swearing, my flatmate flew off the bed, and having received a "where is she text" from my Kung Fu brother and good friend, K.C., (to which she replied "stall them!") raced me out to the car, whereupon I promptly threw my gear (thankfully packed the night before) into the boot and I threw myself bodily into the front seat, putting on my shoes as Jazz roared out of the driveway.

Thankfully, my flatmate can drive like the devil himself. With an agreement that any speeding ticket she receives will be paid by me, she flew down near empty streets to get me to the bus in just eight minutes (also, lucky that we don't live that far away from Baseline Station). At precisely 5:59am, I flew up the bus steps, the last to arrive, to a fatigue-muted cheer and in another 5 minutes, we were on our way to New York.

Phew!

A hundred thousand "thank-you"s to my flatmate, who really is very awesome for doing all that, despite the fact that she had a 9:00am call time that day. Words cannot express my gratitude!

The drive down was pleasant. Many sounds of friendly banter and laughter filled the bus, though some people decided they needed to catch up on the sleep they lost the night before. I managed to get some pleasure reading in. That was bliss. I even managed to listen to my music for an hour.

We stopped off at a Burger King for lunch. For those of you in Australia, that's the same chain as Hungry Jack's. The sizes in the U.S.A. are simply massive. I thought all of North American sizes would be relatively homogeneous. Not so. A small drink there was the equivalent of a Canadian medium. The large was spectacularly huge! I do have photos to illustrate the different, but alas, I forgot the USB cable that will allow me to upload them. I will post them up tomorrow, provided I don't forget that cable....

In any case, I am very glad that I was health concious enough at the time to ask for a small, though it turned out to be not that healthy anyway, as the small was, well, large. Others were not so fortunate.... suckers!

After we all piled back on the bus (and after a detour to return to the Burger King to retrieve a passenger's purse - a detour that was about an hour), it was another four hours until we arrived at out hotel in New Jersey. We were all given the chance to freshen up before heading into Manhattan to meet up with our Kung Fu Uncle, C.K.

Let me explain C.K. to you a little:

A Chinese James Dean.

Complete with white shirt, jeans, and motorcycle helmet. C.K. is an incredibly nice guy, with a very open spirit and full of adventure. I was exhausted after the trip in, and so decided to skip out on the partying in Manhattan that C.K. and few of my Kung Fu brothers elected to partake in, and return to the hotel. There, we dined at the Outback Steak House, whose menu always makes me laugh hysterically (Kookaburra Wings? Seriously?). It was a fortunate choice, as they all arrived back very late (or extremely early, depending on which way you choose look at it), and in pretty poor shape.

There was another pub next to the hotel called Bazooka's which had $5.00 pitchers. Many went there to take advantage of that fact after dinner. I decided that sleep was the best course of action, and thus I showered and collapsed into the hotel bed, excited about tomorrow.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode: New York, Day Two, Part One: Mission Impossible.... and hopefully some photos as well....