Walking home
Peaceful. Quiet. Freshly rained. Simple things in life.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Stuck on a feeling
Texts...........
"The dude who sits in front of me is oh so pathetic"
"Can you do a photoshoot tomorrow?"
"Uh oh. What happened?"
"Sorry I made it worse! :((("
"Hey babe- awww i just want to hug you"
"just keep being a nice person. dont let mean people chg u"
"good luck today. stay strong. i luv u!"
"hahaha thank you for that"
"Whats this I hear about bike shopping??"
"u awake?"
"i want you to come over. now."
"how r u feelin today?"
"save some for meeeee"
"And by the way... its my party too."
"i hate our kind"
"what size shirt are u?" & then "ur a medium now."
"Isn't that illegal?"
"Did you go to NYC today?"
Pass me more WHINE
At an Italian wine seminar with R enjoying some great wines. It's like having my own personal stalker! If only I could afford some of these!
Day in the Adirondack Mountains
A couple months ago, R asked me if I'd be interested in the Adirondacks. Of course, I said. I love them, and I'd jump at the chance to visit them again soon. But I suggested we hit it up during peak leaf season, and he agreed to delay our trip to this past weekend. We even left at 5AM so we'd have the whole day in the sun to hike. He doesn't like to plan..... anything. I'm the exact opposite. So while I'm preparing a bag for the trip, including a bunch of snacks, meals and water, he's roaming Wegmans looking for randomness. But I got everything I needed, we got a few hours sleep, and were on the road and on our way, way before the sun rose.
We arrived at Long Lake around 9 and actually hit up our first mountain trail shortly thereafter. We hiked up this trail that his coworker suggested, which looked really short. But man was it steep! We actually had to get almost on our hands and knees to get up parts of it. We made it to the top in a little over a half hour, and enjoyed the bald top to this great little hill: Coney Mountain. We took another trail back down (much to his annoyance), and enjoyed a little chat about god knows what.
We hit up a local lake called Lake Eaton for some lunch on a picnic table next to the lake. It was a great view, with another couple people playing with their dogs in the distance. It made me sad for all the fun times we had with my mom's old dog Katy in the Adirondacks. But off we went, and we climbed Blue Mountain next. This little hill takes about 2 hours to climb, and about 1/2 way up, you're wishing you could turn around. A tough hike! But the view at the top is amazing, and well worth the effort. 
He suggested I bring wine, cheese, crackers and chocolates a couple weeks ago. So I did! I don't think he realizes how much I listen and observe, but we corked the bottle, and enjoyed a nice hour long meal & chat on the top of the world. The view was astounding.. absolutely amazing. I cannot describe how happy I was walking around atop these mountains with a 360 degree view of absolute beauty. But alas, all things have to end, and we made our way back to the car before heading toward Old Forge.
We stopped in town to get some coffee, but it ended up turning into a small shopping trip, which ended up at Slickers pub for dinner and drinks. Ha! I got some wings, while he hit up some Clam Chowder & Artichoke Dip with French Bread. We chatted up the locals, the bartender (well, he annoyed the bartender, I should say), and then we got back on the road and headed back home. A fine, fine day. I had a ton of fun, I was absolutely exhausted, and I came away from it sad for not camping in the mountains this year. I remember all the great memories I have from the past, and it makes me happy/sad all at the same time. There's always tomorrow, right? (please)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Adirondack Mountains
R & I hit the Adirondack Mountains today for a day of hiking and food gorging! The hiking was great! I had a great time.... I'm really sore... but overall a great time. I will detail more about it tomorrow. :)
Sunrise in the mountains
Good morning! R and I are on our way to Long Lake for a day of hiking and canoeing.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Rochester CycleCross
Jake invited me to come "spectate" his cycle cross on Saturday. So R & I headed over there and hung out with the gang while Jake rode the course a bunch of times. Tough times! Cold weather! Fun laughs.
Wind me up
So R and I are headed to the Adirondack Mountains tomorrow for a day of hiking and canoeing. I was a little taken back that he's so willing to drive all the way there and back in one day, but I've not been there in awhile, so I'm up for the challenge and destination. His indecisiveness and lack of planning are a bit of a concern, though. I over plan.. he likes to figure things out along the way.
Today was Mark's 34th birthday. Nicole had asked me to get it on my schedule about 2 months ago. Those two think I'm way busier than I really am. But I always have a ton of fun with this couple and their new beautiful baby Eydie is such a pleasure to play with. Nola and I got there around 2pm, and Mark was out golfing with his friend to about 4p. The party was a surprise.. which probably accounted for the 2 hour misfire. But the food was great, we had a great time, and the laughs shared by all were wonderful.
Work has been... work... as of late. I'm just keeping my head down and doing everything as well and as hard as possible. It's quite obvious that I have a few people at work that absolutely hate me.. which is perfectly OK. I don't treat anyone any differently than any other... and I'm not about to change the way I am for them. But they're quite nosey and gossipy, so it's been an interesting discovery in office politics. But I've kept a smile on my face, been pleasant with everyone, and even make some moves to take on more work and be more involved. Whether it puts out some fires or not really makes no difference. I'll just do the work, get through my weeks, have fun on my own time and move forward with my plans. It's obvious what must happen from here.
I was "bringing" my job home with me for awhile.. and then Deb made a very good point. She's had a horrible situation in her job for years now, and she never talks about it. If you cannot change something, then bitching/sharing it with others will only serve to bring you down. Don't bring it home with you, and it won't impact your life. I'm not sure how much of that is true, but I've stopped talking about work to anyone else. And I've stopped sharing my plans for my future with anyone else. It's obvious that this has caused gossip to reach proportions where lies were told and people got extremely offended. It won't happen again. (So stop reading my blog for insights...)
Amy had this amazing housewarming party last weekend. After much discussion and debate, I got R to make hummus (and pita) and Indian Kheer for the party. I ended up bringing wine and a no-bake peanut butter dessert. We ended up arriving late (after enjoying a wonderful day wine tasting at Keuka), but having a great time for several hours with new and old friends alike. It was nice to sit back and just hang out with a bunch of people I don't normally see. Our food was much loved, and I ended up being able to bring home some of the hummus (since there was waaaaaay too much to leave there). The next night, I brought some of the hummus and some new pita to my sister's birthday at my aunt's house.. and you would have thought they had never had hummus before the way they reacted. It was a wonderful time, and R got introduced to my crazy family. They seem to like him a lot. Dunno what that means!
I ended up getting a cheapo bike for getting myself to and from work on a daily basis. I may still end up buying a great road bike used off craigslist, but for now, this one will do. I got a bunch of supplies off Amazon.com using some gift cards from my birthday, and all my stuff arrived the other day. I'm so pleased with it all, and I love biking every day now. R has been riding his bike alongside me while I've been running in the mornings, and he got a bike from a coworker. We're aiming to try and hit a couple trails in the Rochester area pretty soon. I like that I'm doing a bunch of things I never would have done because of him. It's turned into a great living situation. He jokes and that we argue all the time. We do. A lot. For example.... today was extremely frustrating... and I wanted to choke him. But whatever... he's who he is.. and I am who I am. We have to live with each other... and it'll work out.
There really has been a ton going on.. but nothing really to talk about. I went to a horror movie premier thing the other night, Dinosaur BBQ with R and his coworkers, several wine seminars at Century, a couple new restaurants with my sisters and mother, the casino for dinner and a night of gambling with Deb, a networking reception through my alumni association, a cyclecross race to cheer Jake on, a picnic lunch with my former boss, trips to go shopping a million times a week it seems (at the oddest of hours with him), and a dozen other things.... nothing too exciting. Every day is something else... plus I'm finally watching season 1 of the Big Bang Theory! So much of that show seems to be ingrained in my conversations as of late.. it's hilarious.
Have a great rest of your weekend. I'm enjoying mine. :) I'm getting up in 5 hours for our trip........
Road to nowhere
We've been so busy the last week that I've hardly seen R. So quotes have been far and few between. I guess that's okay...
"What's your cat's name again? Leslie?" - Sept 20
"I would not have an ant farm. That's stupid." Sept 21
(text message) "When will you be home, homeslice?" Sept 22
"How far did you park... I didn't want to have to walk home..." Sept 23
"So what's with all those rich people in Penfields?" Sept 23
"What could you possibly be doing tomorrow that you're busy?" Sept 24
"I do not know and I do not care." Sept 25
"I would find this cat and I would kill it. What you do with that is up to you." Sept 25
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Dog eat dog world
Life... is full of unexpected changes. This year, emotionally, I've been torn apart, rebuilt and stretched to another breaking point. I've set expectations low routinely so I don't get hit by a bus, but then I realized in February, risk taking is the only way to get ahead and earn what you really want. I'm really not entirely sure what I have in-store for myself. All I know is it's coming... and I cannot sit back and wait for it.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Bahhhhhhhhhh and then run away...
Some funny moments from the last few days.... thanks for all the laughs, R...
"You think I can do jumps with this bike?" Sept 17 (on MY bike, while I was running)
"These I did while driving. See what I mean? I'm just talented like that." Sept 18 (re: photos on his cell phone)
"If you're not going to be navigator then you can sit in the backseat and I'll charge you." Sept 18
"Now if anyone else on the road is ready for me driving is another story." Sept 18 (re: his speeding)
"We're going to get there at what I call 'Indian Standard Time.'" Sept 18 (re: being late to a party)
"I wouldn't call myself amazing. Maybe awesome." Sept 18
"If your cat bites me, I will kill it. Straight up." Sept 18
"I think it's genetic." Sept 19 (re: why people in rochester sit on their front porches in the evening)
"Can you come up here and give me some consulting?" Sept 20 (re: his shirt/tie)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Nature versus nuture...
R has been taking lots of fall pictures while we've been out and about... enjoy...
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Keuka Lake - Wine Tasting
R approached me a couple weeks ago and asked if we could go wine tasting... so I arranged a trip with my sister in October. However, that not being soon enough, he proposed we could go this weekend... and off we went. R is just obsessed with Fall in New York. I don't blame him, since it's very pretty here right now. So we kept stopping along the way for pictures of leaves and landscapes. But before we got to the wineries, we stopped for breakfast at this little diner in Lima called the George France Family Restaurant. Even he enjoyed it.
After leaving breakfast, we visited one of his coworkers as she was working on her new house in Lima, and eventually made our way to Keuka Lake for a few hours of tasting. We even ran into one of my coworkers down at Heron Hill. So we had a great time.
We arrived at our first wineries around 11:30am. We visited four wineries today: Dr. Frank, Heron Hill, Bully Hill & Keuka Estates. I loved the last one especially.. we had a great time (probably a bit buzzed, too, by this point) chatting up the wine taster person at the last winery tasting room... The most disappointing one? Bully Hill. Such a waste of time. I will never drink another BH wine again.
We had a good time.. the tasting fees were very reasonable... and we even stopped by a highly recommended restaurant called the Switz Family Restaurant on the east side of the lake. It was a great day, very warm, very sunny... just.. very relaxing.
Being very fully, very buzzed and after having a great day, we made our way home... and I even kept my mouth shut and didn't argue the entire time. Progress for Luke! A successful day, by any measure! We'll see how things progress for the rest of the weekend! More plans ahead.
Desserts for tonight
Up early making desserts for Amy's party tonight. May or may not come out well. :-P
Friday, September 17, 2010
L: "Dude, that's a girl's bike...." R: "So?"
I'm sure there will be plenty of funny moments coming from this weekend.. we're going on a couple day trips...
"Can you call the place for me and see if they're open?" Sept 12 (re: the autozone)
"Do you have a measuring cup of some sort around here?" Sept 13
"Dude, what's up with your toothpaste. It's burning my mouth." Sept 13
"You should appreciate your mother..." Sept 14
"I just don't want you becoming an alcoholic." Sept 15
"Did you want to go to Wegmans instead?" Sept 15 (at midnight)
"I don't notice such things." Sept 16 (when asked at which point he'd empty the full garbage)
"When does it stop raining in Rochester?" Sept 16
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Obvious signs of covetous behavior
The amount of energy expended in the last six months to try and make my life miserable is beyond compare.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Wine: Michel Torino Wines
Pronounced "Michelle", this awesome winery in Argentina actually opened my eyes to the great choices coming out of that country. Not only is this winery certified organic, but the altitude of the grapes gives their flavor a huge boost. In Salta, Argentina, which is hundred of miles from the nearest city, there is a sense of relaxing and purpose in this small resort town. I loved their story, and would vacation there. I learned something new... maelbec is best for bbq, with bernarda right behind.
2008 Organic Cuma Torrontes $13
Very different. Smooth. Not distasteful. Citrusy. White peaches. Tarragon. Would work well with Chinese food or fish. **
2008 Don David Torrontes $13
A little zing to it. Light. Would work well in the evening summer air. **
2009 Coleccion Pinot Noir $12.50
Has quite the zing to it, not that good though. Lacked tannins, which I love. Might work with beer, or lamb that can take the lead. *
2009 Organic Cuma Malbec $13
This wine made me want pizza! Work work well with it. Solid, spicey, slight tannins, easy to drink and had an amazing smell!
2009 Don David Malbec $13
Wow. Great with any kind of strong, stinky cheese. Great tannins. Awesome aroma. The right kind of spicey, and I bought 3 bottles. *****
2009 Organic Cuma Cabernet $13
Full body, awesome taste, deep, dark red, hint of fruits. *** 1/2
2009 Don David Cabernet $13
Smelly, lots of great tannins, pucked up my mouth!, nice after bite, reminded me of sipping expensive wines in the mountains! **** 1/2
2006 Altmus $41
Dark wine, thick, very drinkable, had some weight to it, full body. Tasted like it had the best of all their wines. Aroma was amazing, peppery (which I love!), goes up the nose and says HELLO! Strong tannins, great choice for beef. ****
WINE KEY
Over the bridge
More! More fun quotes! Thanks, R!
"If you burn the Qur'an, we will bomb your church." Sept 9
(stoically) "I haven't lost any weight in two weeks. You said I could lose four pounds." Sept 9
"Sounds like you've gotten yourself into quite the situation at work." Sept 10
"So you like my haircut?" Sept 11
"I would bang every single one of my female friends." Sept 11
"See. I found you." Sept 12 (after telling him you cannot find me on google)
"Dude, how much celery do you eat?" Sept 12
(on phone) "While this place is sketchy, I'm not about to move. Plus my roommate is pretty fly." Sept 13
If it was meant to be
As vicious and full of malcontent that certain people have been as of late, it's nice to get a friendly email this morning...
Luke,Love you, too, Deb. Thank you.
Have a great day!!! Smile!!! You are a smart, able bodied, lovable young man with the world ahead of you!!! Moods change with the wind!!!
Be strong, friendly, happy as to what and where your life will take you!!!!!
Love,
Deb :)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Wine: Tour of Italy
Had an interesting tasting tonight. Tasted a bunch of random wines from all over the great country of Italy. A distributor came in, and it wasn't very formal or informative, but I still enjoyed trying them. I don't think I'll ever buy any of these.
Teruzzi & Puthod Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2008 DOCG $13
Peach yellow appearance, acidic and strong taste, a bit grapey (not a good thing), and I'd try it with anti-pasto and maybe give it as a gift for seafood. *
Antinori Santa Cristina Sangiovese Toscana Rosso 2007 IGT $9
Didn't like it. Sense of cherry, light/airly, tasted a but cheap. Serve with roasted chicken. **
Ruffino II Ducale Toscana Rosso 2007 IGT $13
I liked this one! Probably because it was a dark, deep red berry flavor. Was quite lovely. Even got 92 points in 'Wine Review.' Best served with beef. *** 1/2
Antinori Chianti Classico Peppoli 2007 DOCG $25
Another deep, dark & dry red. I loved it, but not as much as the previous wine. It was strong, and I like strong! Ha. Lots of good tannins. Would go well with BBQ. ***
Col d'Orcia Rosso di Montalcino 2006 DOC $24
This wine just gave the sense of class and money. The color was brown, it stunk like a barnyard, had a strong, fruity sting to it, and had earthy overtones. LOTS of tannins, which make me pucker and smile. Very elegant. ****
Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino 2005 DOCG $40
Amber color, pungent (not an attractive smell one bit), some tannins, not a great overall sense of character. Pass. **
Got a good buzz, though!
WINE KEY
Can we get up and going by 5am?
More quotes from R.... (he's very funny... and I only keep sharing because of so!)
"You know I just do these things to be difficult..." Sept 4
"Daddy don't play those games..." Sept 4 (talking about himself re: women)
"I really want to punch you in the face right now..." Sept 5
"How do you spell 'awesome?'" Sept 5 (while texting)
"Did you know there's a big swingers community in the Rochester suburbs?" Sept 6
"I learn so much from you. How would I survive without you?" Sept 6 (shock! omg)
"I don't believe anyone about anything ever." Sept 7
"Did she really just sneeze?" Sept 7 (regarding my cat)
A little trip to Toronto (part 2)
After parking in the corner of the city, we made our way back toward the street we saw a bunch of bars and lounges. We made a quick stop at a convenience store for some Coke Zero (sitting back and relaxing my feet for a few!) before heading on and finding a couple cool stores. We walked toward the water, making our way to a really large Marketplace I had read online that was worth noting. Unfortunately, this market was 10 minutes from closing, so not everything was even open. So, a little disappointed, we left and went down to the beach for about a half hour of reflection. Which just means I saw myself in the water before he wanted to leave. He's not so impressed with the water.
After seeing the waterfront, and walking barefoot on sidewalks and through crosswalks (getting many an odd stare) we made our way through to a beer museum, a store and finally to the CN tower. Not so sure why, but it was definitely a sight to see! It might have been better if we went into it, but seeing how immense it was up close was definitely cool. We didn't have a plan on what to do, so off we walked. We went inside via the metro terminal down the Union Station. Not sure why. It seemed an odd way to go for me, but I went with it. It worked out, as we ended up back on Front Street, which is where all the cool bars were.
Unfortunately, each time I suggested a bar I saw, I got a frown, a grunt or a snort. I finally sat down on the sidewalk wall and gave up. "What?" I told him how much he was exhausting me in every way.. and he just needed to make up his mind. The Irish Pub it was! Which its kitchen was closed. Sigh. Nothing ever seems good enough. But we enjoyed a pint of some great beers, enjoyed talking to a couple locals, chatted about the day so far, reviewed our pictures, surfed on the wifi connection, and made a shortterm plan for the evening.
We walked.. and walked.. and walked. We checked out a mall. We checked out a store. We walked into a food place, walked out... we searched and looked and searched and looked. Not sure for what? But I finally told him I needed food, so we settled on this fun little local place called "Eggspectations." Cool egg themed honky tonk breakfast/bar place. Everyone was eating breakfast for dinner. Very cool. Our waiter was a cool young kid that suggested we avoid several items on the menu. I, of course, got chicken wings and some salad. Raj got an omelette. It was very good food, and of we went. The goal was to figure out something to do in the evening.. and our search to find out WHAT to do actually seemed to be what we did. We tried a couple Starbucks for drinks and wifi.. and finally located the place we wanted: The Bier Markt.
This place was recommended to us by the awesome sales staff of GUESS. So after walking another 10 blocks (risking a ticket in that parking lot...), we found the place, got ourselves in the PACKED joint, ordered a couple drinks, and enjoyed the atmosphere. I literally spent my last Canadian dollars/twonies getting our drinks... making me nervous for getting ourselves home (thruway tolls and bridge tolls)... but it worked out. We chatted up the bartender, sipped our drinks, enjoyed hanging out, and got on our way by 11.
I had a great time. We got home by 1AM... not so bad. A lot of walking. A lot of randomness. When I go back, I will have a plan. I didn't like the impromptu aspect so much. While I liked walking around and just popping into places... knowing WHERE to pop into randomly would probably be better. Our trip home was easy, getting across the border simple, and getting into bed at 2AM not so shabby.
Fun times, all around.
Now he wants to go to Montreal. OOoooooOoooookay.
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