When in Rome...

I went to Rome, and it was fabulous. I ate a lot of gelato, saw a lot of attractive men.

I also had to pay about $10 for a TINY, single-use tube of sunscreen since the airport security confiscated mine. I wish there was a way I could stick it back to the man [the man being all those tourist "friendly" places who rip you off with riiidiculous prices], but alas, I have no power. I hate being at their mercy...

All in all, I’d recommend the place :D

Since I am way to lazy to upload the massive amount of pictures again, check out the album here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2303272&id=17806915&l=a634213265

Halloween. Boom.

Green shirt, green tights, little boys "Boom" briefs + cardboard covered in foil + several hours of shopping and construction = Priceless Halloween costume

I [proudly] present my [amazing] Halloween costume for 2009. Continuing my [impressive] tradition of homemade outfits, my friend Monica and I [creatively] constructed Mrs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle outfits. I went as Mrs. Rafael. Kowabunga dude!

Yes, Monica and I did get dressed at my office an take the tube to the partay:

[Note: subliminal messaging may have been used to impress the reader even more with the hilarity of my costume]

Wales. Booyah.

I went hiking in Snowdonia in Wales. It’s a mountain range. We hiked across Grib Coch. We named it the cradle of death.

I’m afraid of heights. It was scary.

At the top of the ridge, after rock climbing to get there (literally rock climbing up--I don't have pics of this part but I swear it was straight up), this is how I was moving (except even slower):

You’d be holding onto dear life too. I was too pansy to carry a camera, so here are some pictures the others took. Fortunately you couldn’t see the 3,000 foot drop on either side at the top since it was foggy. Bless you, fog.

The crew:

The view:
Another view:

View #3

Kate climbing up towards the ridge:

A bum shot of me climbing up to the ridge:
Beginning of the ridge:

I'm not prejudice against the disabled, but com'on....

I’m pretty settled in my place now, but realized I never blogged about my move along with my “differently-abled” moving man I hired.

I’d bought some furniture from a classified ad, and also hired a “man with a van” service to transport said furniture. When I met my mover at the house to pick up the stuff, the aforementioned “man with a van” stepped out of the van, along with his one leg and set of crutches. Yes, he was a one-legged mover. I’m not kidding.



Thanks the kind stranger walking by my flat later on who helped me unload my furniture.

Welcome to the city that never sleeps

I think I've realized why people never sleep in large cities: because they are infested with mice thus creating frightening nightmares when one does attempt to get some shut eye.

I speak from experience. My flat isn't ghetto, but yet still there is a mouse (or mice) who had found its way into our kitchen. Ok, could be worse...and it fact it is.

This has happened 3 or 4 times where I wake up to a scratching noise from inside the ceiling above my bed. Mind you, the vaulted ceiling is very low here in my room, so this mouse is literally separated by 1" of drywall from landing on my sleeping face. Shudder. As usual, find a graph best describes my situation.



I'm too scared to plant mouse traps, and have no real idea how I could catch one inside a wall anyway (our food is secure, so it's coming in from outside).

Completely irrelevant side note: anyone interested in visiting me and staying at my humble abode :)

Romantic Comedies

I saw a preview for a romantic comedy the other day. Looked formulaic, cheesy and only slightly funny. But...of course I immediately wanted to see it!

I knew the plot after about 10 seconds of the preview which made me ponder and eventually realize that romantic comedies really come down to one simple equation (click on image to read):

Now, I just need to get some funding from a studio, hire a few well known Hollywood faces, and make my fortune...

PS Yes, I did think of and make this chart myself. It took a long, long time to realize and articulate the complexities that are woven into this genre of motion pictures [sarcasm].

Ode to Sour Patch Kids

I follow a lot of blogs, and several of them are of my married friends, some who even have babies now days. Strange how time flies by.

Anyway, I've noticed how these folks get to post about about their wedding anniversary, birthdays or "firsts" for their babies and the like, and they share their happiness and love for them. It's touching, endearing and makes me think of my first love: sour patch kids.

Sour patch kids, I love you because

• you have a sour exterior, but really your sweet on the inside
• your so colorful and multi-faceted
• you're "a fat free food" which helps dispel any guilt in eating you
• you set a great example by always smiling even when if you're missing a limb or two
• you're like the giving tree: when people think you've given everything you can, there's still that pile of sour sugar at the bottom of the bag that brings enjoyment
• you never interrupt a movie we're watching together by talking, or even making that loud crunching sound like popcorn
• you're patriotic: as a loyal American, it's tough to find you outside of your homeland
• you've made me tough inside and out: through our years of being together I can now eat a whole bag and my tongue won't be raw, nor will I feel sick to my stomach

I love you sour patch kids! Thanks for being you.